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Collective Responsibility, Collective Action
December 13, 2022 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Francophone African Town Hall on Prevention of and Response to Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment in Global Health
Co-sponsors: COSAMED, Francophone West Africa and Regional Chapters
Key takeaways:
- Focus on instilling a culture of fighting sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) within the magistrates, as they are the ones with the power to prosecute
- Training for magistrates and capacity building for CSOs
- More leadership positions for women means that they will have access to creating and reforming policies that affect them
- Fight against SEAH is seen by the people in the region as an attack on the future of the young women
- We need to use the same concepts and language for SEAH, to be able to define the same strategies amongst the multiple stakeholders.
- Medical and mental consequences of SEAH both need to be given equal importance
- Psychological support and rehabilitation services need to be integrated services that are operational
- Impunity amongst health workers is a serious issue, and administrative sanctions are not enough.
- We need more reforms to be able to prosecute
- We need to look at the intersectionality of SEAH with other factors like disabilities
- The importance of a survivor-centric approach to justice and solutions
About the event
On December 13, 2022, Women in Global Health hosted the final Regional Town Hall on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment in Global Health with the Francophone Africa Regional Town Hall. This event also marked the launch of the #HealthToo Policy Report.
The event was moderated by Dr. Samiratou Ouédraogo, co-founder and lead for the WGH West Africa chapter, Assistant Professor in Public Health and Co-chair of the O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chair in “Research and Action Against Cancer” at the University Joseph Ki-Zerbo in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). The opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director & Co-Founder of WGH, who presented the findings of the policy report in a presentation.
Our first keynote remark was delivered by Mr. Marcel Jean, Prevention and Response to Sexual Misconduct (PRS) Coordinator DRC for the WHO Goma office. Mr. Marcel spoke of the role of judicial authorities in trivializing SEAH, and the general society accepting SEAH as core problems to be tackled. His suggestions included: building capacities for CSOs, training for magistrates, and creation of a database of SEAH perpetrators for reference to employers. He acknowledged that administration sanctions are not enough amongst healthcare workers accused of SEAH in communities they are employed to protect, but accepted the limitation of international organizations in not having read-made solutions for them.
Our second keynote remark was delivered by Dr. Barnabé Gning, Director General of Public Health at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Senegal. Dr. Gning reiterated the importance of such types of consultative workshops and town halls to highlight the problem. He talked about the need to intersect it with other factors like disabilities. He also spoke about the National policies for empowerment and education in Senegal, and the hotline for SEAH victims. He called upon CSOs, governments, international organizations and individuals alike to work against SEAH.
The first round of remarks and the #HealthToo Policy Report presentation was followed by a panel of discussion composed of leaders and activists from West Africa, representing CSOs working on local and national levels, and international organizations working globally. The discussion was centered around some key findings from the #HealthToo Policy Report and previous town hall takeaways:
- Fear and stigma preventing women from reporting cases of SEAH
- Policy level actions for rehabilitation of survivors
- Convergence of institutional priorities of international organizations like WHO with local CSOs
Our panelists included:
- Ms. Julienne Lusenge, President SOFEPADI
- Mr. Marcel Jean, PRS Coordinator, DRC, WHO Goma Office
- Dr. Elia Badjo, Executive Director, COSAMED
The panelists engaged in a productive dialogue regarding the need to prosecute, and the limitations of humanitarian organizations in doing so.
