Monrovia – In commemoration of Orange Day, UN Women and GSM Company Orange Liberia organized a program Wednesday, September 25, to sensitize young people about how they can combat sexual gender-based violence and abuse of all forms.
The Day was commemorated under the theme “Unite to End Violence against Women”.
The story of Brenda B. Moore, who was abused at the tender age of eight, was portrayed at the program in a movie as an eye opener to the participants.
The movie is titled “Stolen childhood: Outing the Menace of Sexual Abuse in Liberia”
Following the screening of the film, a panel discussion featuring five panelists, was moderated by a staff of UN Women. The discussion was focused on combating SGBV.
Serving as one of the panelists, the head of the International Rescue Committee in Liberia, Faith Cooper said that over the years, her organization has seen an increase in the number of survivors seeking services at all of the one stop centers around the country.
“There is a need to really do more at these centers,” she said.
According to her, in 2017 the IRC saw a total of 1,324 cases, while in 2018, 2,208 cases were recorded. She added that from January to July of 2019, 2,300 cases have also been recorded so far.
“This is a call to alarm everybody because the cases continue to rise and I think this time that we go beyond talking and take action,” she stressed.
Making special remarks, the Deputy Head of the UN Women, SangeetaThapa, stated that SGBV is a major threat to the security of women and children throughout the world.
She said violence is triggered by various factors but basically the root cause lies in the unequal power relationships in society between men and women.
“It is now our responsibility to reach out to every part of our society and raise awareness as well as take actions to end all forms of violence against women and girls, not forgetting ending abuse, harassment and rape of girls and young women and even babies,” Madame Thapa said.
Making special remarks, the Director of Internal Communications at Orange Liberia, Sare E. Buchanan said that the reason why her company is a part of the “OrangeDay” celebration is because Orange was one of the organizations that sign the United Nations Women’s empowerment principles.
“Orange is the company that supports and promotes the empowerment of women. We are going to support within all of our affiliates and the company itself that women have equal rights,” she said.
The Unite campaign to end violence against women is celebrated worldwide on the 25th of every month.