The annual meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) from February 28 to March 9, is currently underway in New York, USA.

The Gambian delegation comprised representatives of the government of The Gambia, Action Aid International The Gambia (AAITG), a gender activist and a representative from the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS). Four of the participants were sponsored to the meeting by AAITG, while one was sponsored by the UNDP Banjul Office.

The theme for this year’s CSW is ‘violence against women and girls’. The Gambian delegation attended sessions on Monday and participated in the meetings that focused on violence against women and the girl child: urgent issues and solutions; the role of ICT policy in empowering and protecting the girl child; and strengthening institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women and gender equality in Africa: a review of the South Africa experience.

The meeting also deliberated on cultural challenges to the elimination of girl-child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in West Africa; human trafficking and non state actors: torture of the girl child within the context of ritual abuse torture; and the domestic violence bill in Zimbabwe and its implication on the girl child.

The sessions stressed the need for education, mentoring and support in order to reduce incidents of violence. It also expressed the need to draw media and public attention to the prevalence of violence against women, develop understanding on the root causes, and break the culture of silence, for action in prevention and support to the affected persons; Partnering with the private sector, CSOs, NGOs and the public at large, to address the issues of ending violence against women and girl child, to break the culture of silence. The need to promote the economic independence of women was also reportedly highlighted.

In summary, the sessions concurred that violence against women and the girl child should be fought at all levels, by the executive, legislative and the judicial systems, and the community at large.