Throughout the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Equipop interviews its partners about their actions to combat gender-based violence.
Activist Néné Fatou Maricou is president of the Youth Women for Action (YWA) network, a national movement of girls and young women leaders in Senegal.
Can you remind us of the latest developments in the fight against gender-based violence in Senegal?
Over the past three years, numerous cases of violence have been reported. I am not talking about numbers, but rather a general observation. Before, we did not see everything that was happening. But through social media, many cases have been reported. The media has even relayed those that we have brought to light.
Until then, each organization carried out its activities, and we took action to denounce injustices, but without organizing ourselves. There was a turning point in 2019, following an attempted rape that led to the death of one of our sisters, Bineta Camara. A protest movement was born: the collective, Dafadoye ("Enough is enough!"). It was created by activists, with the Association of Women Lawyers at its core. We were involved from the beginning. Then many other groups joined the movement. With Dafadoye, civil society organizations fought this battle together. People took to the streets, then appealed to the National Assembly and called on the President of the Republic to take action.
With my association, for example, we created an online petition asking the President to criminalize rape. In one week, we collected over 1,000 signatures. Subsequently, in January 2020, we secured a law that criminalizes rape and pedophilia in Senegal. Before that, they simply weren't crimes!
There is still work to be done on the issue of child marriage. The problem is that the legal age in Senegal is currently 16 for girls and 18 for boys. We are trying to get the government to revise the family code and raise the legal age to 18.
We must also mention female genital mutilation, which remains deeply rooted in Senegal. In the Kolda region, 94% of girls and women have undergone excision, 93% in Maatam, and 86% in the Tambakounda region. Today, we know that these are flagrant violations of rights with very serious harmful consequences for sexual and reproductive health. However, we have had a law since January 25, 1999, which punishes the act of female genital mutilation. Unfortunately, very few cases have been reported. The penalties are not enforced. If the law is not enforced, those who practice these violent acts will continue to do so.
Can these protests bring about change?
This year, to mark the launch of the 16 Days of Activism campaign, a campaign to promote and raise awareness of the 2019 law was launched. We sincerely hope that it will be implemented. And above all, we hope that young people will be at the heart of this awareness campaign.
If I take the work of my organization, YWA, as an example, we are making efforts to communicate about all types of gender-based violence. We are conducting interventions in different regions to raise awareness among the population about harmful sociocultural practices.
An important factor in making real progress is that people understand what GBV is.
Do you think this would bring about profound change in Senegalese society?
"Correcting one's wife," "harassing," "touching"... people don't always understand these words. We need to work to raise awareness of what GBV is. We are planning advocacy initiatives and prevention campaigns against harmful actions aimed at young people and parents. The school system also has a very big responsibility: to teach young people what GBV is so that they are able to take responsibility for their actions.
In some cases of gender-based violence or rape, people find it difficult to talk about it or report it for fear of being singled out or stigmatized. Today, girls should no longer be afraid. They must speak out and seek help: see a doctor, go to the police... Psychological support for victims must also be strengthened. A girl who becomes pregnant after being raped may consider terminating the pregnancy or even committing suicide. The AJS rights centers are already doing a great deal of work. But we want more structures to care for victims.
