By Aisha Tamba
A four-day training of state prosecutors and police officers on effective mechanism and best practices for the prosecution of cases of sexual violence is currently underway at NAQQA in Kanifing.
The training kicked off on Tuesday, facilitated by Think Young Women (TYW), a young women-led non-profit organization in The Gambia, with the funding from the British High Commission under the project “Promoting Justice for Victims and Survivors of Sexual Violence in The Gambia.”
Musu Bakoto Sawo, national coordinator of the TYW, said the organization seeks to inspire and assists girls and young women to achieve their individual needs and collective interests by developing their leadership skills empowering them through capacity building, awareness-raising, networking and mentorship.
She noted that in 2020, the organisation secured funding from the British High Commission to implement a project to facilitate access to justice for victims and survivors of sexual violence through capacity building of law enforcement officers and state prosecutors, media personnel and activists.
“This project seeks to strengthen the capacity of prosecutors within the justice delivery system to ease access to justice and provision of support for victims of sexual violence. lt is believed that the training of prosecutors by persons/institutions specialized in the delivery of care for victims of sexual violence and prosecution of sexual offences would be instrumental in ensuring that sexual violence cases are disposed of in a timely and efficient manner.
“It would also help ensure that provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2013, especially as it pertains to the rights of victims in granting bail to accused persons and other judicial processes are of paramount concern to all officers in the justice delivery system. The training would also be crucial in equipping prosecutors and other law enforcement officers with the I requisite skills needed to conduct pretrial interviews with victims of sexual violence, as well as in leading them to given evidence during the trial.”
Commissioner Abdoulie Sanneh, Gambia Police force, head of prosecutions and legal affairs, expressed delight to witness another history-making in the fight against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
He cautioned that Sexual Gender-Based Violence if not mitigated can affect the socio-economic development of nations and The Gambia is not an exception.
“Therefore, the continuous capacity building of all stakeholders such as justice actors is very necessary if we as a nation are to make any positive gains in the fight against this menace. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to inform this august gathering that the fight against Sexual Violence has been and will always be on the Gambia Police Force priorities. “
He noted that the training will provide a fair knowledge for officers in handling such delicate offences.
“This is all geared towards reducing and careful handling of this sensitive nature of sexual violence cases by law enforcement officers, the media and activists.
“Promoting justice for victims and survivors of sexual violence in The Gambia will immensely empower women and children to achieve their desire goals.”
He said the four-day training is another milestone in building the capacity of relevant stakeholders to achieve the set targets in protecting women and children who are prone to sexual exploitation that is on the increase globally.
“Cognizance of the fact that sexual offence cases are cross-cutting issues in societies, all participants are urged to take this important training seriously. “
He thanked TYW for coming up with such a wonderful initiative and the British High Commissioner for sponsoring the worthy cause.
