Making Space To Talk About Gender-Based Violence

Making Space To Talk About Gender-Based Violence

There’s no other way to put it: the prevalent violence against girls and women around the world is unacceptable. 35% of women have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lives.

Girls who are victims of violence should not be kept from school. To address this issue, we recently held two workshops on gender-based violence for 231 of our Sisters To School scholars in Senegal.

The young women openly discussed different types of violence they have experienced or witnessed within the community, underlying causes that lead to violence, and how to move forward as leaders to prevent incidences in the future. This workshop also allowed scholars to talk about the physical and emotional tolls assault can take on an individual and how to increase access to the support victims need.

At the beginning of the workshop, only 2% of the girls said that they were equipped to address gender-based violence in their communities. After the workshop, however, 100% of the girls said they felt empowered to speak out against violence.

As shown by the #MeToo Movement in the U.S., making open dialogue safe for women is crucial for systemic change. You can help us create more crucial workshops like this. Donate now.

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