A five-day African regional seminar on violence against women; prevention and response strategy development funded by the United Nations Fund Population Activities (UNFPA) recently concluded in Windhoek, Namibia.

The seminar brought together government officials, gender experts and advisers working with UNFPA from 20 countries in Africa including The Gambia, who have been working on violence against women at different levels. They shared information and experiences on the situation of violence against women in their various contexts, working with governments, non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations.
Violence against women is a violation of human rights, experts stressed, noting that African states are committed to protecting and preventing violence against women through legislation and enforcement of laws.

Also, NGOs and civil society organizations are called upon to engage in advocacy to eliminate violence against women in communities to protect women and girls. In a review of the situation in Africa, the workshop provided an opportunity for participants with diverse experiences to exchange knowledge, best practices and research information and various aspects of violence against women, ranging from physical, sexual and psychological health and rights of women in Africa.

Experts presented on their various country contexts, implementation strategies and activities to address violence against women. They also shared results, achievements as well as the challenges and suggested strategies for the way forward. The workshop also stressed the need for support and political will from UNFPA Africa Regional Office and this was reflected in the speeches and commitments made to give the full attention to the outcomes of the Regional Strategy on violence against women.

The Minister of Women, Family and Gender in Namibia, who hosted the workshop in partnership with UNFPA country office, welcomed the participants and gave her unflinching support on behalf of the government of Namibia. It was reaffirmed that violence against women, is violation of human rights and it is not enough to have new laws but also to enforce the law for women to have friendly and accessible court mechanisms. Amongst the strategies is the need to work with all arms of government and to sensitize communities to prevent violence against women.

The executive director of GAMCOTRAP, Dr. Isatou Touray whose organization is supported by UNFPA, described the workshop as participatory and rich with relevant information on violence against women. There was a strong call from partners to move from strategy to action. She noted that the workshop was timely for Africa to take on board issues of women's human rights more seriously, especially in the area of sexual and reproductive health rights.

Dr.Touray said that participants from governments, Civil Society Organizations and NGOs reaffirmed their commitment to work with UNFPA on violence against women. There was call for UNFPA to align behind national efforts, deepening partnerships with civil society organizations and building on existing efforts. Dr. Touray delivered the vote of thanks on behalf of the participants.