At 25th special plenary session: eBASE Africa schools junior MPs on Sexual Gender-Based Violence.

The session which started June 17 will conclude June 27, 2024. It is under the patronage of the Minister of Social Affairs, Pauline Irene Nguene. 

The event is taking place under the theme: “For the respect of the rights to education, including those needing special protection measures: Children are mobilising”.

eBASE Africa drills junior MPs

Researcher at eBASE Africa, Merveille Ongolo, led the discussions on an education talk focused on Gender-Based Violence, GBV, with the junior parliamentarians. 

Ongolo underscored the importance of discussions around GBV with the young members of parliament, noting that it is “a notion often discussed with adults and women while children are often put to the side or left out”.

“We wanted to help them understand the definition of GBV, the different forms it takes and the consequences, because as pupils or young people in school, it really affects their different backgrounds,” Ongolo explained.

The eBASE Africa staff regretted that aside rape or sexual violence, most people are ignorant of the other manifestations of GBV.

Ongolo used the opportunity to demonstrate through the house of GBV or the Dark House, how victims “remain in silence because of different factors”.

Citing socio-economic, religious or region of origin among some of the factors, Ongolo said unfortunately, these victims remain without saying anything and usually die within themselves.

She sounded upbeat that if victims can express themselves, “they can be healed and heal those around them”.

Drilled on concept of red zones

The children MPs were also drilled on the concept of red zones. They were showed certain areas that everyone must avoid as they serve as a form of GBV warning.

“We wanted to teach this to the children and show them the importance of evidence, because everything we have said here are the results of research. We wanted to show them that as parliamentarians, they can propose different policies that can come as recommendations to the hierarchy,” Ongolo told reporters. 

Junior MPs decry early marriages, commit to be SGBV ambassadors

Speaking after the educative talk, most of the Junior MPs took the commitment to be ambassadors of Sexual Gender Based Violence in their regions of origin

Junior Parliamentarian from Adamawa Region, Yem Hasupha Mbimimbong, said that he and his peers had noticed the recurrence of SGBV cases in the region. Mbimimbong attributed the frequency of the cases to ignorance on the part of the population. 

“Parents force underaged children to get into marriages not knowing that it is a form of GBV,” he said, while pledging to embark on a robust sensitisation campaign when he returns to Adamawa Region.

Through the campaign, Mbimimbong, said the parents will get to know the dangers of forcing a child into early marriage. 

“As a junior parliamentarian, I will be able to take their pleas and cries to the government, since we are the ones who make the laws, so that GBV will be eradicated in the Adamawa region,” Mbimimbong said.

On her part, Junior Parliamentarian from the Far North, Aissatou Ishagah, decried early marriages for boys and girls who are supposed to be leaders of tomorrow. 

The practice of early marriages, she said, “falls under emotional and physical GBV and needs to be stopped because many people don’t realise the impact it has on our society and most people”.

Ishagah took the commitment to raise general awareness about what GBV is, why it has to be talked about and steps to eradicate it taken. 

Another junior MP, Mitambo Yvanah Marielle, from the Centre Region, said she plans launching an awareness programme upon return to her community.

The objective she explained, is “to tell people what they need to know because many people are unaware of this problem” of GBV. 

“Together with the administrative authorities, we are going to carry out a major awareness campaign to show people who are behind this phenomenon the harmful consequences it can have,” Mitambo said. 

The junior MP furthered that GBV should be discouraged at all cost because it attacks the psychology of the victims who turn to be confronted with acts of suicide.

This, she explained, is because of the stress, pressure and the fear of being judged that victims go through added to exposure to diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

About eBASE Africa

eBASE Africa is an international charity registered in Cameroon. It is working to make basic services more effective by ensuring best available research evidence is applied in service delivery. 

It also operates across the evidence ecosystem-evidence implementation, primary research, evidence synthesis, evidence translation and evidence implementation.

In a quest to ensure sustainable interventions, eBASE Africa implements projects along existing local health or education systems and incorporation of community participation in all projects.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3149 of Tuesday June 25, 2024