Stop the Violence !

Advocacy plays a crucial role in achieving WAGGGS’ and MGG’s Mission “to enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of world”. Being a responsible citizen means being prepared to speak out (against injustice) and take action on behalf of others and ourselves. And this is what MGG Adult Volunteer Martina Gatt did when she was invited by Girl Guides South Africa to participate in a global youth-led panel discussion organised as part of their Together We Rise Campaign. This event was intentionally planned to be held in March in connection to International Women’s Day. Martina was amongst the 4 panelists who spoke about a gender-based violence issue they wished  to challenge in their respective country.

Zeineb Dahmoul from Tunisia chose to challenge the ‘silence culture’ in her country, where, due to shaming and further abuse, a victim of gender based violence keeps silent and does not report or seek help. Ariada Bonomi from Argentina chose to challenge femicide; in Argentina there was an average of 300 female victims over the past 5 years. Cearlovey Granali from the Philippines chose to challenge child exploitation where, due to poverty, children might end up being sold by their own family and end up in the prostitution circle. Martina  chose to challenge the rise in domestic cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports have showed that there was a higher demand for services related to domestic violence and reports of abuse to the police.

Attendees of the event were given the opportunity to comment or ask questions and, following these questions,  important issues were raised. One of the main issues raised was the importance of having men also fight gender-based violence together with women because women’s rights are human rights. A further point was the importance of educating children and the general public on forms of violence and signs of abuse.

It surely was  inspirational to see young women raising their voices and taking action on this shadow pandemic. This was an opportunity to  enable young women to participate in and it was surely a  powerful experience of speaking out to shape their future and that of their community.