Gender Based Violence Information Management System Launched in Sierra Leone to Promote Response to Increased Risks Against Women and Girls in the Upcoming Elections

Freetown - In order to promote and prepare to respond to increased risks against women and girls in the upcoming elections, the Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs (MoGCA), on Monday, 29 May 2023 launched the Gender Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS+) in Freetown. This is an important milestone in the fight against Gender Based Violence that contributes towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

GBVIMS+ is a key component of the Peace Building Fund programme that is being led by of the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs, coordinated by the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator and jointly implemented by UNDP and UNICEF. 

Gender-based violence remains one of the world’s most widespread and devastating human rights violation. Globally, Sierra Leone ranks 162^nd out of 170 countries in the Gender Equality Index. Discriminatory social norms about appropriate roles and responsibilities for women and men are key contributors to gender based violence in the country. According to the Sierra Leone Demographic Health Survey, 2019, 60.7 per cent of women and adolescent girls aged 15-49, have experienced physical violence and 7.4 per cent sexual violence since aged 15.

“We will pilot the GBVIMS+ in Kailahun, Bo and the Western Area and cascade it systematically to the other districts in the country,” said Ms. Manty Tarawalli, Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs.  “We are grateful to all stakeholders who are working tirelessly under the Technical Working Group led by the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, including the Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Rainbo Initiative, Commit and Act Foundation, World Hope International, International Rescue Committee, Defence for Children International, World Vision, Sigicall, Plan International, Save the Children, UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF and Aberdeen Women's Center.”

“We are particularly pleased that the Peace Building Fund contributed to the establishment of GBVIMS+ together with the joint programme with UNICEF/UNFPA to End Child Marriage” Ms. Tarawalli added. 

“During electoral periods, cases of violence against women and girls tend to soar and, in many instances, go  unpunished, said Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone, “The Peace Building Fund programme supports the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs and partners efforts to integrate Gender Based Violence reporting in early warning mechanisms such as the Situation Rooms that are managed by the Office of National Security (ONS) and West-Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP)”.

Additionally, the programme supports the MoGCA in operating the 116 hotline to report Gender Based Violence cases, capacity building of the Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police and the Legal Aid Board to tackle the problem of violence during election periods.

GBVIMS+ is the online, cloud-hosted software application for GBV information management and case management. A module of the Protection Related Information Management System (Primero), GBVIMS+ helps GBV service providers securely and safely collect, store, manage, and share GBV case management information, including functions for remote supervision and electronic referrals between service providers, while simultaneously allowing for more systematic monitoring and analysis of trends in reported cases. Launched in 2015 for deployment in humanitarian settings, GBVIMS+ has been deployed in 19 humanitarian context globally serving over 80 User organizations. With the generous support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Government of Denmark, the GBVIMS Steering Committee, UNICEF and UNFPA; this rollout in Sierra Leone marks the first-ever deployment of GBVIMS+ for government use. 

The launch of the GBVIMS+ builds on the gains already made to strengthen the GBV response by multiple partners under the leadership of the Ministry including; scaling up of One Stop Centers, specialized police and judicial capacity, community-based prevention and social mobilization efforts.

A total of 16 motorbikes, 7 laptops and 20 computer tablets are being delivered to the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs by UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone, Rudolf Schwenk and will contribute to building the ministry’s capacity to address the problem of Gender Based Violence in Sierra Leone.

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