Sexual violence is among the most damaging crimes a person can inflict on another. The effects can be devastating, often involving life – changing consequences such as unwanted pregnancies, mental and physical problems, sexually transmitted infections, and sleep and eating disorders.
Sadly, accurate information about the extent of sexual violence is difficult to obtain because most of these crimes are seriously under-reported to law enforcement.
Gender-based violence affects women of all ages. However, women aged 50+, have been left out of demographic surveys and studies. Most of the documented data is for women aged 15 -49 years. The lack of reliable and comprehensible data on this group makes it even difficult to design appropriate policies and interventions to support them. As a result, they end up invisible and neglected. We need to change this.
The ongoing rise of Covid19 has led to more restrictive measures on movement to curb the spread. It has now become difficult for gender based violence victims to move around to get help. Now has come a more actionable time than ever when GBV service providers thought outside the box. They have to come up with creative ways and tools to help survivors. It is no longer business as usual. Creativity and innovation is the new style of how services will be offered going forward.
Safe Speaks 