Sierra Leone News: Child Welfare Committees strengthened to advocate for girls

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The launch of the “Hands off Our Girls” campaign by the First Lady Fatima Bio and six other African First Ladies has generally been received positively by stakeholders, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Child Rights groups and other rights activists. Days after the launch, 60 participants including parents, youth and stakeholders from seven communities in the Western Area Urban and Rural district have been trained on effective implementation, monitoring and timely referrals of violence against girls. The 60 participants will form part of the existing Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in their respective areas to assist in monitoring whether there are children in conflict with the law. The Youth and Child Advocacy Network (YACAN) organized the training in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA) as part of the Girls Advocacy Alliance Project (GAA), which is funded by Plan International. The two-day training will end today Wednesday19 December 2018 in Freetown. The training looked into topics including the Child Rights Act and the role of community stakeholders in preventing abuse on children’s rights and responsibilities, the National referral protocol and the role of traditional leaders and CWC in reporting child abuse cases. One of the participants Mabinty Kabia revealed that despite the fact that existing CWC members have been active in her community, they are finding it difficult to cope with parental attitudes in raising their children. She said some parents are responsible for what their children especially girls went through stressing that the compliment of government’s efforts in protecting the girls should be a collective action from both parents, community and the government. But, when the parents, especially the mothers, are in support of the misbehaviour of girls their work will be of no significance, she stressed. Kabia pleaded with government especially the Ministry of Social Welfare and Children’s Affairs and other line ministries and child protection officers to start holding parents culpable for their girls. She said some mothers are in the habit of sending their girls to the street to make money, which is uncalled for. The Acting Deputy Director in the Children Directorate of the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs, Daniel Gbow, said the training is based on child protection, monitoring and prevention of abuses against them. He said they are training new CWC members to boost their numbers and assist the Family Support Units (FSU) to protect children from all forms of violence. Gbow said they have been providing psychosocial counseling to victims of sexual and gender-based violence. He said when a child is in conflict with the law they must be taken to approved schools and not in police cells or correctional centres. The Director of YACAN, Hassan Fuad, said they have been receiving positive support from the CWC members since they were identified by their communities and trained. He said the training is part of an ongoing nationwide training for new CWC members aimed at ensuring they embark on monitoring and prevention of crime on girls.

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