March 2018

Mar 28, 2018

Discuss with us on 2 May 2018!

Dear aidsfocus readers,

South Africa ranks among the countries with the highest incidences of rape in the world: every ten minutes a woman is raped there. Forty percent of people under the age of 18 report that they have already been raped at least once. These are inconceivable numbers! In particular, rape victims from the townships and rural areas are lacking professional support.

A broken healthcare system means that rape victims must bear not only the physical but also the psychological burdens of rape. The fear that they will not be believed or being told that what they have experienced does not count as rape means that many survivors do not realise they should have access to justice and medical care in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

As the recently publicised OXFAM scandal has shown, aid organisations have become a part of the problem! However, reports of the sexual exploitation of women at the hands of UN Peacekeepers and other organisations in conflict zones are nothing new. It is time to finally stop looking away and to take responsibility.

On 2 May 2018 the annual MMS/aidsfocus.ch conference on "Gender Based Violence: Approaches and challenges at community and advocacy level" will take place and address precisely these topics: outstanding experts will be reporting firsthand on how they are contributing to the alleviation of gender-based violence. We have invited a Congolese psychiatrist from Bukavu to report on the camps in Uganda. Abubakar Mutoka Balibanga from Terre des Hommes Schweiz will be describing his work with young people in Tanzania while our member organisation IAMANEH will be speaking about engaging men and boys and Médecins du Monde about the importance of cooperation between the medical and legal sectors. Vivian Onano – the UN Women Youth Leader from Kenya – will introduce her work as an activist in the battle for gender equality.

And, as a special guest, we are welcoming Tina Tinde from the IFRC. She will give an overview of the methods used to implement a survivor-centred approach in dealing with sexual harassment and abuse. In the subsequent panel we will discuss approaches to how sexualised abuse of power by aid workers can be prevented in future.

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

You can register here.

Carine Weiss

Coordinator, aidsfocus.ch

Project Leader, Medicus Mundi Switzerland

cweiss@medicusmundi.ch