Action Aid Liberia is calling on the Government through the National Legislature to immediately ratify the Convention-190 (C-190) amid at ending Gender Base Violence and harassment in Liberia so as to contribute and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality and decent work in Liberia.
Speaking on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, at the official Commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism in Monrovia Action Aid Liberia program Coordinator Ms. Jestina Kanneh Jaward stressed the need to end gender-based violence in Liberia and pledge her institution to remain committed to addressing the structural patriarchal, neoliberal capitalist causes of gender-based violence and securing economic justice for women.
“We have committed to ensuring access to decent work for women workers in the informal economy and the reduction and redistribution of their disproportionate unpaid care and domestic work burden”, she emphasized.
According to the Action Aid Liberia program Coordinator Ms. Jestina Kanneh Jaward the campaign is part of their 2020 Campaign to amplify the voices of women workers in the informal economy, while they continuing to call for the ratification of (ILO) Convention 190 to end all forms of GBV in private and public spaces.
Their global theme for 2021 is Orange the World- “End Violence against Women Now!” and the National Theme: “Enough is enough! Let’s act now to end violence against women, girls, children, and other marginalized groups”.
She said the C-190 is the first international treaty instrument to recognize the right of everyone in the world of work, free from violence and harassment.
According to Action Aid Liberia Program Coordinator, during their recent centennial International Labor Conference in June 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention-190 was adopted with majority tripartite support, as C-190 defines violence and harassment in the world of work, recognizes the right to a world of work free from violence and harassment, and specifically addresses (GBVH).
Given an overview of the 16 Days of Activism, Ms. Jaward narrated that, the day is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls which Liberia is not an exception.
She added that the Global 16 Days Campaign was launched by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at its first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and has been used worldwide to call for the elimination of gender-based violence (GBV) that runs annually from November 25 which stands as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to December 10, Human Rights Day.
She pointed out that, the significant dates for the campaign are: November 25-International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women, November 29- International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1-World AIDS Day, December 3-International Day of Disabled Persons, while December 6- is an Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre and December 10-International Human Rights Day.
“These dates for the campaign were chosen to link violence against women and human rights and emphasize that gender-based violence against women is a violation of human rights”, Action Aid Liberia Program Coordinator asserted.
She noted, in addition to the 2021 anniversary theme, their Campaign will continue its program activities to end gender-based violence (GBV) in the world of work by focusing on the link between domestic violence at the world of work, drawing on legal standards outlined in ILO Convention 190, and the actions put forward in Recommendation 206 (R206).
Meanwhile, the Action Aid Liberia Program Coordinator alarms that the levels of GBV have gone to where no one can say they are safe as each and everyone is affected by it neither one way or the other. “Let us join hands together to raise our voices on GBV, challenge SGBV.
Reported by: Joseph Tumbey
josephtumbey@gmail.com
(+231)777941209.
