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The most common violence


August 21, 2012
By The IRC

The primary threat to women in West Africa is not war or armed gangs, it’s their husbands, according to a recent International Rescue Committee report, Let Me Not Die Before My Time: Domestic Violence in West Africa. 

“Domestic violence is often considered a private matter, minimized as a cultural practice or seen as an issue that can be addressed only after peace and development take hold,” says IRC president George Rupp, who led a fact-finding commission to the region.
 
The IRC report recommends that governments and donors recognize domestic violence as a public crisis and develop strategies to address  the problem. The report has already had an impact. In Sierra Leone, the country’s First Lady, Alice Sia Koroma, told a gathering marking the report’s release that silence is “not an option” when it comes to domestic violence. In Liberia, a new law against domestic violence is being considered by the government. Passage of such a law is urged by the IRC report. Public events to discuss the IRC report were also held in Ivory Coast.
 

Working together to end domestic violence

The IRC has enlisted the help of 450 marketing students from around the world to come up with ways to raise awareness about domestic violence. They've gathered at the Hyper Island campus in Sweden with support with marketing/advertising firm gyro to brainstorm together and pitch their best ideas. You can follow their progress at www.IRCthinkin.com.

Learn More

Blog post from the IRC's Carrie Welch:  Why the IRC launched the Domestic Violence Think-In (August 16, 2012)
 
Update from gyro's Adam Swann in Forbes: The future being created today (August 20, 2012) 
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1 comment

Comments

How much of a role does

Submitted by Rasheem (not verified) on February 27, 2013 - 8:40am.

How much of a role does poverty play and what focus is being given to treating the men. I know most of the time we focus on the women because they are the direct victims of the situation, however, domestic violence effects everyone; and if its causes are male it seems to me treating the men who participate in it an appropriate place to start. Perpetrators are also impacted by their abusive behavior. Domestic violence is just as much a socio-economic as it is education, culture and attitude. Has it been explored in this area as a symptom of poverty, frustration for a people who feel powerless and that they have no control over anything except for the people and women in their home? I am wondering if home is the only place they can lash out and release their frustration if given alternative means to channel their anger and develop an understanding of how and why they feel the ways they feel. … Just a thought.

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