By Gibao Brima

In a bid to help the reduction of sexual based violence including Early Child Marriage, HIV/AIDS and STIs, a national Non-Governmental Organization called Women In Crisis Movement under the dynamic leadership of Rev. Mrs. Juliana Konteh has received support from Global Fund under the New Funding Model (NFM3) Project Quarter 10 through Integrated Health Project Administration Unit (IHPAU) to help in the reduction of Sexual Based Violence, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The two days sensitization drive  took place at the Saint Martin’s Hall, Blackhall Road, in the east end of Freetown and the Liberty Hall in Lumley in the west end of Freetown respectively.

The sensitization drive targeted mainly religious and traditional leaders and other community stakeholders.

In her teaching, Mrs. Fatmata Tucker, Complaint Desk Officer at WICM, dilated on the purposes and objectives of the sensitization which she said focus mainly on how to stop discrimination and stigmatization against HIV/AIDS victims, teenage pregnancy and early child marriage, human rights policies, which she said reflect on any human being either rich or poor, big or small etc. Dilating further, Mrs. Tucker underscores the core values of Women In Crisis Movement which she said mainly target female sex workers who are their priority.  “WICM cannot remove them from the streets or give them job. We prefer to sensitize them about HIV and other sexually transmitted infectious diseases. We engage them and after sensitization we carry out noncompulsory HIV test so that they can be able to know about their status after which we help victims to care centres for treatment and those whose rights are violated, we help them to take up legal action in the court of law,” she explained.

Mrs. Tucker told participants that there is a fine of twenty million old leones or five years imprisonment for anyone found guilty of discriminating or stigmatizing HIV victims.

In all these Global Funds, Mrs. Tucker said support us financially to ensure that early child marriage, sexual gender based violence is being reduced. In that direction, WICM as organization has helped to reduce early child marriage by establishing safe homes in all of our operational areas and has trained up mentors to help the mentees be knowledgeable about their sexual wellbeing so that they will be protected from any form of abuse.

In his teaching, Mr. Ahmed Bangura, a field officer, at WICM underscores that WICM is a national nongovernmental organization working in all the four cardinal points, north, south, east and west area of Sierra Leone, adding that WICM works to rebuild the broken lives of vulnerable girls and women to work at per with men. Women in Crisis Movement, he said works with various international organizations such as Global Fund to address HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, UNFPA to help address child marriage, ActionAid, Jhpiego which is a research university at John Hopkins University in United States of America among others.

Sexual Gender based violence he said is key and it mostly disturb our key population, i.e., female sex workers. Violence, he said is anything done to someone that will make him/her unhappy. It may be physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, verbal and rape among others.

Rape, he said, can occur in various ways i.e. sexual penetration, deferment and sexual touching etc.

Mr. Bangura said that is why they have called upon the religious, traditional leaders and other community stakeholders to help pass on the message on sexual, gender based violence, HIV/AIDS to their various communities.

HIV is real it has no drugs to cure it yet but there are drugs such as PREP that can help to reduce the HIV viral load to the extent the victim cannot pass on the virus if have sex with a person that do not have the virus.

He advised the participants especially the women since they mostly provoke rape due to exposing their body parts which often lead to attract men.

He warned the men to control their temper over women so that violence will be reduced in their various communities.

Transport refunds to participants climaxed the sensitization programme.