Caritas Freetown Holds stakeholders and Consultative Engagement
By Naomi Pessima
With funding from Trocaire, Caritas Freetown on Tuesday 7th March 2023 held its stakeholders and consultative engagement at the St. Anthony’s hall, Syke Street in Freetown.
The engagement is part of a project title ‘’Preventing Violence Against Women and Promoting Women's Participation in the 2023 General Elections.
In his statement the Executive Director of Caritas Freetown, Rev. Fr. Peter Konteh said preventing violence during elections is crucial for ensuring free and fair elections and that violence can intimidate voters, disrupt the voting process, and create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity.
‘It is important for all stakeholders, including political parties, election officials, security personnel, and civil society organizations, to work together to prevent violence. In particular, it is important to raise awareness about the negative consequences of violence, provide training for security personnel and election officials, and establish effective mechanisms for reporting and responding to incidents of violence, he said.’
Father Konteh noted that it is also important to promote dialogue and cooperation among political parties and to encourage them to respect the outcome of the election.
He said supporting women's participation in elections is essential for promoting gender equality and ensuring that women's voices are heard in the political process.
‘Women face various challenges when participating in elections, such as social and cultural barriers, lack of resources and support, and discrimination and violence, he said.’
Eliza Sillah Programmes Manager, Justice Commission, Caritas Freetown making her presentation highlighted the objective of the training while noting the importance of protecting women during and after elections.
This she said is important and the need for securities forces, stakeholders and the general public in protecting women including persons with disability.
Madam Sillah said Sierra Leone has experienced recurrent civil unrest and violence, which has hindered the country's progress and development
‘Violence against women and girls during the election period has been reported in the past, with disturbing trends of intimidation, threats of physical and sexual violence, and attacks on women's political candidates, she said.’
The Programme Manager said the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) in Sierra Leone remains a major challenge with high and disproportionately affects women, especially those with disabilities.
Additionally, she said persons with disabilities are often neglected in public discourse on gender-based violence and are rarely able to access justice or legal protection.
Maurice Pewa, GBV and Protection Leaf Trocaire said promotion and protecting women is a priority at Trocaire noting that this is important.
‘We walk towards a just society and that this engagement is relevant. It will help to identify the root cause and proffer solutions for a free fair and transparent election.
