Africa – CIEE peer educators in Bangui urged to be at the forefront in addressing conflict-retaled sexual violence
To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on June 19, 2023, Peer Educators met at the Centre Catholique Universitaire (CCU) in Bangui for a working session with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation. This year’s theme was: “Bridging the digital divide between women and men to prevent threats and respond to conflict-related sexual violence”.
Many young people in Africa are directly or indirectly infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the problem persists in sub-Saharan Africa in countries torn by conflict. We are still blindfolded so we are not taking the right steps to fix it. There is an urgent need to raise awareness of the pandemic and in particular to enlighten young people, but also children and adults, on the importance of changing risky behaviors. Education is one of the many ways Jesuits in Africa are involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Africa.
With the support of the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN), Le Centre d’Information d’Education et d’Ecoute (CIEE) in Bangui wanted to show its solidarity with the victims and those who support them. Committed to creating hope, to making known what the victims are going through, the Peer Educators were encouraged to break the silence and put an end to wartime rape. This commemorative activity raised awareness of the need to end sexual violence, to show solidarity with the victims and to pay tribute to those who fight on the front lines to eliminate these crimes.
The term “conflict-related sexual violence” includes acts such as rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced marriage, as well as any another form of sexual violence of comparable gravity, perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys, and having a direct or indirect link with a conflict. This expression also includes trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual violence or sexual exploitation when these facts occur in times of conflict (UN 2023). Read more…
Source: African JesuitAIDS Network
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