In 1991, the 16 Days of Activism began as a strategic effort to unite and amplify calls for the elimination of violence against women and girls across the globe. Every year, the 16 Days of Activism campaign mobilizes organizations worldwide and draws the attention of governments to the urgent issue of gender-based violence. The United Nations’ international campaign, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, runs from 25November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, through 10 December, International Human Rights Day.
In the Gambia, organizations working on the issues of women and children equally add their voices with campaign messages in the fight to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. FANTANKA, a leading organization that focuses on addressing societal challenges that affect women and youth in the country, the country coordinator, Mallen Jobarteh, has equally added her voice to the campaign with this year’s theme, “Unite to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls.
The founder of Safe Space 4 Girls, Sophine Manneh, through their platform, pointed out the growing concerns of digital violence, which is having women as the highest victims of that violence. They amplify one message this year: “Unmute Our Voice,” while calling for an end to silence and impunity.
As women-led organizations commenced the campaign and amplified the challenges the women faced through the digital space, the violence intensified. Yet, nearly half of the world’s women and girls lack legal protection from digital abuse.
Nearly 1.8 billion women and girls worldwide have no legal protection from digital abuse. Digital abuse is “spreading at an alarming speed”, fueled by AI, anonymity, and weak laws. UN Women says 44% of the world’s women and girls lack legal protection against cyber harassment and stalking, and women in public life face deepfakes, coordinated harassment and generated disinformation.
What are the types of Gender-Based Violence Against Women and Girls?
- Intimate Partner Violence
Domestic violence is mostly attributable to family members, as the perpetrators and often targets women and girls. Intimate partner violence is linked to domestic abuse and is even more prevalent for women. In 2021, the World Health Organization reported that 27% of women ages 15-49 had experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by their romantic partners or ex-partners. The WHO equally pointed out that 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners or ex-partners, the report indicates.
- Online or Digital Violence
Equally called Online Gender-Based Violence or OGBV, is a relatively new form of abuse which is prevalent among women even in countries with statistically lower internet usage. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the World Wide Web Foundation notes that while only 19% of women used the internet in 2020, compared to 86% in more developed countries.
The Council of Europe Identifies Four categories of OGBV:
Harassment, violence, and abuse facilitated by technology (e.g., installing spyware onto an intimate partner’s devices or tracking them).
Abuse that takes place or is amplified online (such as non-consensual sharing of intimate photos).
Enabling violence via the internet (such as cyberbullying or doxxing a woman on social media).
An evolving form of Online Gender-Based Violence: Using AI and other technology to abuse others (via tactics like deepfakes).
- Psychological and emotional abuse
Not all abuse is physical. Verbal abuse, threats of harm, manipulation and mind games, and isolating a woman or girl from family, friends, school, or work are all forms of psychological and emotional abuse. Like many of these forms of violence, these are two types of abuse that can be experienced by all genders, but are especially common to the experience of women and girls. One study finds that, in the EU, nearly one out of every two women has experienced some form of psychological violence from a partner.
Psychological and emotional violence can often be precursors or happen in tandem with other forms of violence, and can lead survivors to experience depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) long after the abuse has ended.
What are the Legal Frameworks Addressing SGBV in the Gambia?
- 1997 Constitution of The Gambia
- Sexual Offences Act
- Domestic Violence Act
- Women’s Act
- Trafficking in Persons Act
- Children’s Act
All these legal frameworks are there to protect and preserve the rights of women and girls in the Gambia.
Prevalence of Gender-Based Violence Against Women in The Gambia
- Prevalence of Physical Violence
- Forty-six percent (46%) of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence since age 15, and 11% experienced violence in the 12 months before the survey. Page 276.
- Prevalence of Sexual Violence
Nine percent (9%) of women aged 15-49 have ever experienced sexual violence, and 2% experience sexual violence in the 12 months before the survey. The percentage of women ever experienced sexual violence generally increases with age; less than 1% had experienced sexual violence by age 10, and 17% by age 22. Page 277.
- Prevalence of Spousal Violence
Forty-one (41%) percent of ever-married women age 15-49 have ever experienced any form of emotional, physical, or sexual violence committed by any husband/partner. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of ever-married women experienced such violence from their current or most recent husband/partner. Among these women, 29% experience physical violence, 6% experience sexual violence, and 24% experience emotional violence. Page 279.
Conclusion
This year’s theme for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is “Unite to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls.” Women in the Gambia are renewing their call for a safer online and digital space for women and girls. These violences can quickly escalate to offline abuses and could possess the tendency to cause psychological trauma and coercive control.
Digital threats can equally have serious ramifications on women’s public participation and leadership, which could undermine gender equality and threaten their safety both digitally and physically.
As an organization committed to fact-checking, media and information literacy, and digital safety, Info Checked’s work aligns with this year’s theme and is dedicated to countering gender disinformation and supporting digital safety trainings for women and girls, and raising awareness about the risks associated with online abuse perpetrated against women. The organization calls for safer online spaces where they won’t be abused, to be free to use the digital space without threats.