Bamako hosts session on draft law against gender-based violence

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Mali is the fifth African country with the highest prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting, Mali's Minister for the Promotion of Women, Children and Families, Mrs. Diakité Aissata Traoré said at a high-level advocacy session on the draft law against Gender-Based Violence (VBG) in Bamako on Wednesday.

She pointed out that at the age of 15, nearly four out of 10 women, representing 38 per cent, experienced physical violence mainly by current husbands or partners in 65 per cent of cases.

According to statistics, in the first half of 2019, the number of cases of gender-based violence reported and in care amounted to 2,767 including 20 per cent of sexual assault, 17 per cent of rape, 24 per cent of physical violence, 8 per cent of forced marriages, 17 per cent of emotional violence and 14 per cent of denial of resources.

Moussa Diarra, chairman of the Committee on the Promotion of Women in Mali's National Assembly, said that only a law could mitigate the phenomenon.

The National Assembly is committed to the cause and looks forward to the draft law being on its table, he said.

This session was organised by the Ministry of the Promotion of Women, Children and Families, in partnership with the Justice, Prevention, Reconciliation Project (JUPREC) for women, minors and other victims of the Malian crisis.

This project, created in 2015 for five years, is funded by Canada for US$20 million

The main purpose of the session is to prepare the draft law against gender-based violence, which constitutes one of the most serious and frequent forms of violations of fundamental rights in the world.

-0- PANA GT/JSG/BBA/MA 12Dec2019