By: Aruna Kamara (BO)
The Executive Director of Protect Her Sierra Leone, Beatrice Sao Bundor has said that they have received support from Internews to implement a project titled: Stopping Verbal Insults against the public –facing women in Kakua Chiefdom in Bo District, Southern Sierra Leone.
According to Madam Bundor, a recent survey conducted by the Sierra Leone Association of Women in Journalism indicated that verbal insults are regarded as one of the threats faced by public-facing women including women leaders, women of human rights defenders and women journalists in Sierra Leone which tend to be push women out of the public space or censor their voices.
She added that Protect Her Sierra Leone will be bringing women to key decision makers and influencers in Bo City on Tuesday, 20 December 2022 to discuss the said threat and proffer practical steps to addressing the said barrier that tends to push women out of public space or silencing their voices.
Speaking to A-Z Newspaper in Bo, a Genders activist said that Protect Her is on the right track in creating a platform to discuss around stopping the verbal insults against public-facing women.
Josephine Brima said that the engagement will be timely because we are approaching the 2023 elections and women will be engaging the public to market their political agenda to the electorate.
Mrs. Brima noted that if the awareness raising on verbal insults against women is not curtailed it will affect the development of the country.
Tianagay Kpaka said that women are vulnerable to verbal insult, especially when they want their voices to be heard and that she is optimistic that the engagement of Protect her will help address the social menace against women.
“Women should be treated with respect wherever they go and we are pleading with everybody to please stop the verbal insult against public-facing women,” she cautioned.