For 15 months, Equipop will support two consortiums of feminist organizations in West Africa, thanks to financial support from the Feminists in Action fund. Five West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire) will thus be covered by actions aimed at combating gender-based and sexual violence (GBV).
Data on VSS: a strategic necessity for the fight against them
“Establishing effective tools for collecting data on VSS will highlight the scale of the problem and encourage authorities and CSOs to provide comprehensive responses to ensure that women's rights are protected and respected.” Souwaiba IBRAHIM Nigerien League for Women's Rights
Faced with the alarming lack of data on VSS, the LIGUES consortium, composed of the Ivorian, Beninese, and Nigerien Women's Rights Leagues, will seek to influence public authorities to : the inclusion of a budget line dedicated to the establishment and/or improvement of systems for collecting data on VSS. Specifically, the consortium will carry out the following actions:
- Conduct an in-depth analysis (by country) of existing government data collection systems on VSS;
- Drafting of an advocacy document, with experts and survivors of violence, describing the essential elements and steps to be taken (actions to be implemented and budgeting) to ensure that each country has a reliable, high-quality data collection system;
- A media campaign to mobilize and open the debate in favor of collecting qualitative data on VSS;
- Organization of races against violence in several major cities across the countries;
- Advocacy meetings to demand clear commitments from the relevant authorities.
Holistic shelters: an urgent need for survivors of sexual violence
The consortium ROAJELF, including ROAJELF Benin, Burkina Faso, and Senegal, hopes that through its advocacy, influence national and subregional governments to: the establishment or expansion of care facilities holistic survivors of VSS. More specifically, the team, with the support of Equipop, will implement:
- Conducting an inventory (by country) of existing facilities that take in survivors of domestic violence in order to define standards for high-quality holistic care;
- Cross-analysis of best practices and challenges identified in the three assessments, to understand the realities and best practices and carry out this advocacy at the regional level;
- Artistic mobilizations to present the results, highlight the issue of the lack of holistic centers to accommodate survivors, and raise awareness among the population and allies to demand public commitments.
- Advocacy meetings at the national level with ministries concerned with domestic violence issues and with subregional bodies, with the consortium participating in the annual ECOWAS meeting.
Feminism and sisterhood to fight together against sexual violence against women
As Souwaiba IBRAHIM of the Niger Women's Rights League says, the projects of Channel 3 of Feminists in Action are: "the result of sisterhood and feminist activism beyond national borders." This regional sisterhood, long desired by West African feminists, is now taking shape with an unprecedented alliance, as this is the first time that the three Women's Rights Leagues and the three ROAJELFs are working on a joint project.
