Girls’ safety hinges on families’ willingness to speak out against sexual violence, researchers in Senegal’s southern Casamance region have found in a recent study of girl children aged ten-13.
The study conducted by the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the University of Ziguinchor found that in the Kolda, Sédhiou and Ziguinchor districts, family, social and cultural pressures bred silence and immunity. Following reports of cases of early pregnancy and violence in and around schools in 2008 and 2009, Unicef funded and conducted the study for a more detailed picture of the nature, extent and causes thereof. “It is urgent that the taboo surrounding sexual violence be lifted in society and above all in the family,” states the report.
For Diatta Yadicone Sane, a state education worker in Sédhiou region, family honour is an important factor. “In this culture the family’s honour is first and foremost,” she says. “The first consideration is saving face among adults; people don’t think of the young girl who is the prime victim.”
Researchers found that social pressures “disarm” families in cases of rape. “Even if parents want to react, more often than not they opt to settle the matter within the family or ask a traditional local leader to mediate,” says the report.
Moreover, families decline to talk about these arrangements between family members and the perpetrator. “This makes it difficult to have open discussions in the community about the problem and its impact. Silence is one of the principal causes of this violence,” says Mohammed Azedine, deputy regional director of Unicef. Some local experts and residents say it’s mostly because of a family’s fear of social stigma that rape cases aren’t pursued in court. “A girl is destined for marriage,” Sane says. “So the family does not want her to be singled out and marginalised.”
In their report, Unicef and the University of Ziguinchor say health, education and social services institutions should work together to combat all forms of violence against children. In their recommendations, they call for revisiting education — for children and adults — about sexual violence and children’s rights, providing legal assistance to victims and strengthening social services for girls traumatised by violence.
(Excerpted and adapted from www.irinnews.org)