“We started as a result of a gap for women in the transitional justice process. When we visited communities, we noticed that the men mostly came forward to tell their stories, to talk about the violations they endured, even though women were also negatively impacted,” said Mariam J Ceesay, Programme Coordinator at the Women’s Association for Women and Victims’ Empowerment (WAVE-Gambia). The civil society organisation stands at the forefront of healing, justice, and empowerment for torture victims.
A 2021 report submitted by The Gambia to the Committee on Enforced Disappearances states that, for over two decades, from 1994-2017, the dictatorial rule of former president Yahya Jammeh in The Gambia was marked by widespread human rights abuses. Arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances of critics and political opponents, sexual violence used a means to subjugate women, summary executions and torture were widespread and routine in the northwestern African country, semi-enclaved by Senegal.
Entire communities were divided along ethnic and political lines and among those most affected were women victims of state-led witch-hunt campaigns. They were arbitrarily accused and detained, and subjected to forced confessions, experimental treatments, and public humiliation.
Even today, according to Jens Modvig, Chair of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, these survivors continue to live in physical pain, with psychological trauma and a lingering sense of fear and exclusion.
Helping these survivors are seven women human rights lawyers, survivors and activists who, following Jammeh’s concession of power to presidential-elect Adama Barrow and at the start of The Gambia’s transitional process, founded WAVE-Gambia in 2019.
Ceesay described entire communities divided because of the violations endured by women accused of witchcraft. These accusations were often supported by erroneous but engrained beliefs, which several victims shared their stories about, including during their testimonies at the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, Cessay said. Those who before had affluent businesses and who were able to farm for trade, suddenly became unable to sell their wares because of the stigma attached to these accusations. Reconciling these communities and restoring social cohesion were amongst WAVE-Gambia’s goals, she added, and, in this, they sought the support of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.
The Fund is a unique UN operation managed by UN Human Rights that gives direct help to victims of torture and their families. It was established in 1981 by General Assembly resolution 36/151 to focus global attention on the needs of torture victims.
The Fund helps survivors and their families to rebuild their lives and to seek redress for the human rights violations they suffered. It awards annual grants to civil society organisations around the world, ranging from grassroots and survivor-led initiatives to well-established human rights organisations and rehabilitation centres, that provide direct support to victims. In 2025 alone, it provided support to over 56,000 survivors through 186 grants in 92 countries. The Fund also helps build the capacities of service.
WAVE-Gambia reaches deeply affected and often forgotten communities like Makumbaya, one of the epicentres of State-led witch-hunts. Through WAVE-Gambia’s programmes, 150 survivors of the witch-hunt campaigns are currently given tools to heal. Once ostracised and shunned, the women accused of being witches in different communities are given safe spaces for art-based therapy, traditional healing practices, yoga, body mapping exercises, as well as support for livelihood and income generation. These interventions foster community, self-reflection, and recovery.
“Before, my anger could last for days. Sometimes, when my daughter spoke to me, I wouldn’t answer her. Those things don’t happen anymore.”
Support at WAVE-Gambia goes far beyond emotional healing. The NGO also provides medical screenings, dental care, physiotherapy, and psychological services. In 2009, when police and paramilitary officers arrested and beat dozens of Ndigal members — a religious minority from the village of Kerr Mot Ali in the Central River Region of The Gambia — many fled to Senegal. WAVE-Gambia has since helped over 50 of their children return to school and supported 66 people in regaining their Gambian citizenship by processing legal documents.
Crucially, WAVE-Gambia is changing the legal landscape in The Gambia. Through persistent advocacy, the organisation contributed to the enactment of the country’s first anti-torture legislation in 2023.
“We cannot talk about providing support to victims without looking at prevention, prohibition and accountability for perpetrators. During the 22 years of authoritarianism, torture was used as a tool for oppression and because there was no legal framework in place, so no sanctions,” Ceesay said. “It took five years for the law to be enacted and while we were supporting victims, we also concluded that we had to consider the bigger picture and contribute to the non-occurrence of this violation.”
Basic facts about torture
Drawing from the definition in Article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, torture can be described as any deliberate act carried out by the State by which severe physical or mental pain or suffering is inflicted onto a person to extract information or a confession, as punishment, intimidation or coercion.
International law prohibits torture at all times and in all places, even in situations of armed conflict or public emergency. There are no exceptions.
The systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity.
The UN anti-torture machinery includes: the Committee against torture; the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture; the Special Rapporteur on torture; and the UN Voluntary Fund for torture victims.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
WAVE-Gambia advocated to Parliament, bringing constituency leaders directly to the communities to hear their testimonies and witness concretely how torture had affected the victims. For Ceesay, parliamentarians needed to understand the urgency of enacting the anti-torture law.
Since 2023, WAVE-Gambia has worked to popularise the new law among law enforcement officials, deconstructing mindsets, but also raising awareness within the communities themselves. Further, the organisation hosts a Human Rights and Cultural Festival each year to commemorate the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, on 26 June. The different activities bring together survivors, policymakers, civil society organisations, and the security sector to ensure that history never repeats itself.
“The path to healing is long, but with support, survivors can reclaim their lives and break the cycle of silence,” said Claudia Gerez Czitrom, Secretary of the UN Voluntary Funds for Victims of Torture and Slavery. “Donations to the Fund help organisations like WAVE-Gambia provide life-changing holistic support, restore dignity, and accompany survivors of torture in their quests for justice.”
United Nations
