2024-12-16 01:33:00
As part of the fight against violence against women and girls, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance, in collaboration with the SWEDD-Benin Project, is organizing awareness sessions for several days in the districts of Benin and advocacy on laws that protects women and girls. The activity, carried out by country lawyers from the MASM legal platform, targets women and market users, artisans, police and students.
The aim of the meeting with these different layers of society was to provide information about the legal provisions in place to protect girls and women in Benin. Gender-based violence remains a major challenge in Benin. Sexual harassment, rape, early or forced marriages, genital mutilation are violations that women and girls face daily.
This violence is observed in educational and professional environments.
Facing these realities, the government of Venice, on December 20, 2021, adopted Law No. 2021-11 relating to special provisions for the suppression of sex-based offenses and the protection of women. This text provides for severe penalties, which can go up to life imprisonment for certain offences. An important new feature of this law is the prohibition of any romantic relationship between a learner and their teacher. With this awareness session it was possible to inform women about their rights and about the protection measures available to them. Mr. Alassane Rafiatou, Legal Technical Adviser of the MASM, recalled the importance of the role of women, which she describes as “the salt of life and the engine of the economy”.
She also emphasized the need for appropriate legal tools to better protect their interests and ensure their development in society. On a mission to supervise the activity, on Thursday, November 21, 2024 in the commune of Sô-Ava, Madame Véronique Tognifodé, Minister of Social Affairs and Microfinance, saw a determined and highly committed team in front of a population that pays attention to explanations and data. She recalled the importance of the role of women in the development of Benin: which justifies, according to Véronique Tognifodé, that they benefit from lasting protection from the State. She therefore invited the audience to support the Government of President Patrice Talon as he seeks to create conditions for the development and empowerment of girls and women in Benin.
This series of awareness sessions in 546 districts of the country for weeks follows the capacity building sessions for actors in administrative structures and community organizations on the new legal texts to protect women and girls under the leadership of the SWEDD Platform legal framework. -The Benin project between December 2022 and January 2024. The 77 municipalities were graduated during May 2024.
The SWEDD Project (Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend) is a regional initiative launched in 2015 that aims to accelerate the empowerment of women and girls while strengthening their role in socio-economic development. This project is being implemented in several countries in West Africa and the Sahel, with technical support from the World Bank, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and other international partners. Key objectives of the SWEDD Project include empowering women and girls, reducing gender inequality, accelerating the demographic transition and promoting female entrepreneurship and youth employment. To achieve these objectives, the Project uses awareness campaigns, training programs and community activities. It relies on partnerships with governments, NGOs and local institutions.
SC/SWEDD-Benin
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