Conscience International (CI)
Women and youth especially female students need more access to litigation and protection against violence and abuse, such as, forced and early marriage, rape, gender based and domestic violence against women and other forms of indecent assault in Gambia.
Challenge
Women and youth especially female students need more access to litigation and protection against violence and abuse, such as, forced and early marriage, rape, gender based and domestic violence against women and other forms of indecent assault in Gambia. There is a need for work in advocacy to educate women and grant them equality.
Program Summary
The program was focused on the training of female students and community women in secondary schools and communities on human rights and peace building, especially on gender based violence, although both male and female participants were trained, but there were more female participants than male, as a result of the vulnerability of women and girls in term of domestic and gender based violence, and sexual abuse and exploitation such as rape, etc. The training focused on the following:
· To provide a universal understanding and knowledge of what the rule of law really means
· To create a universal understanding which offers an effective monitoring and proper watch of how the law is interpreted and implemented at all levels of governance
· To assist partners involved in the rule of law watch to collaborate together and have a measuring index for the rule of law and how it affects citizens
· To enhance citizen participation in monitoring the enforcement of the rule of law
· To assist implementing partners to work from the Four Universal principles of law under the WJP declaration, and
· To collect information for a data base on how to best provide a measurable index on the implementation of the rule of law in Gambia.
Impact
Three regional group trainings were conducted by the project. The project team spent 12 working days exempting travelling days, in rural Gambia, teaching and preaching key messages on basic human rights principles and concepts, gender based violence and peace building, among students, at various secondary schools and community members, in many communities in three administrative regions of Gambia, namely; Lower River, Central River and Upper River Regions respectively.
CI Introduced human rights education and peace building training at grass root communities and in schools which is a very strategic approach to creating awareness among local people and vulnerable students on such issues, this will greatly support the ultimate development of the rule of law, so that, respect for the rule will exist from the grass root levels in schools and communities to institutions, families, wider societies, government and the world as a global village. This approach is innovative as it works very well and is sustainable.