Fighting Domestic Violence in Senegal

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000783 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR SCUL KJUS SG SUBJECT: Fighting Domestic Violence in Senegal ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On June 27, 2008 the Committee to Combat Domestic Violence against Women (CLVF) held its annual general assembly to review and assess the situation of domestic violence in Senegal. Participants, representing a wide swath of civil society groups, NGOS and foreign missions, focused on issues such as rape, education for young girls, domestic violence and the promotion of women in the political, social and economic arena. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) The Committee to Fight Domestic Violence is a national non-profit organization that was created in July 1996 following an egregious domestic violence case that involved a woman who was beaten by her husband over a 22-year period in Diourbel (200 km east of Dakar). CLVF's objectives are: to stop domestic violence and support female victims from all types of violence by reforming legal processes used to identify cases of domestic violence; to assist women to understand the social, medical, and legal implications of domestic violence. Through its shelters, CLFV gives counseling and educates victims' families, legal and health authorities such as the police, hospitals, gendarmerie, and the courts about the consequences of violence. They also develop modules on violence to educate victims and the community on the problems of domestic violence. A Democracy and Human Rights Funds (DHRF) grant assisted CLFV to establish three new regional branches in Tambacounda, Ziguinchor and Louga in order to help them to support their fight against domestic violence in all its forms. Stories from the Field-Tambcounda -------------- ¶3. (SBU) CLVF's Tambacounda branch has developed many activities including a workshop to train paralegals and a radio spots on rape and sexual harassment in schools. As a result of this new awareness, the rapist of a fourteen year old girl was sentenced to two years in prison. In another case, a 15-year girl was raped by her teacher and got pregnant. Her rapist was also sentenced to two years in jail. A good reason why regional branches are important is exemplified by an early marriage case where parents wanted to marry off their ten-year old daughter thus forcing her to drop out of school. However, the school director contacted CLVF and a committee went to talk to the family about the dangers of having the girl drop out of school. In this case the parents were won over by the arguments of the CLVF representative and they finally allowed the girl to continue her studies. Today she is in a prestigious boarding school in Goree Island. Stories from the Field-Louga -------------- ¶4. (SBU) CLVF Louga's local branch is headed by a woman who herself was a victim of domestic violence and whose husband was sentenced to jail for four years. In her speech she addressed the success of CLVF in breaking the silence around domestic violence, and urged the judiciary to do more in assisting victims. She highlighted multiple problems facing women such as the fact that some guilty men get the help of their "marabouts" and are thus not prosecuted or when the abuser is a relative of the victim, whereupon a case is closed even before police or gendarmerie are aware of the problem. Louga is a region that has a high rate of migration with many divorced women who had extramarital relations some of which sometimes results in unwanted pregnancies. One of CLVF's modules is a family mediation module that explains the dangers of men going abroad for a long time and leaving their wives alone. Stories from the Field-Ziguinchor -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Because of the long conflict between the Senegalese Army and the rebels from the Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de la Casamance(MFDC),this region is characterized by high rates of violence against females and where girls as young as ten years old are regularly raped by both soldiers and rebels. Since its inception in Ziguinchor, CLFV has provided a great deal of help and assistance to victims through counseling and shelters. Yet, Ziguinchor CLVF faces many of the challenges that other branches do around the country. For example, in a recent domestic violence case a wife's husband was sent to jail for two years instead of five because the two parties are related. In addition to working on domestic violence, CLVF is also conducting workshops to educate local citizens about the dangers of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Comment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) One of the most important ways to measure the level of domestic violence is by measuring the effectiveness of the government and local NGOs in protecting and providing justice for the most vulnerable victims. The encouraging news is that steps DAKAR 00000783 002 OF 002 have been taken to address the issue and in most cases perpetrators are serving prison sentences for their crimes. However, the most difficult part of addressing domestic violence is to bring about a change in cultural attitudes towards the problem. In many cases the religious and cultural burdens of the resulting shame on a family is an impediment to the reporting of abuse and CLVF wants to overcome this by educating women about their rights. On they underline the need for more shelters to host victims in order to give them proper counseling and a neutral environment in which they can recover. Furthermore, health workers, policemen and gendarmes must be encouraged to do their work by providing medical certificates or other proofs of abuse and facilitating victims' access to the judicial system especially in providing financial means to victims who can't afford lawyers. SMITH