…To Give Listening Ears to Their Kids
Liberia-The Executive Director for Men Against Rape and Domestic Violence has called on all men to give a listening ear to their kids to prevent the wrong people for do so.
Appearing on ECOWAS Radio program, “Good morning Liberia,” Mark N. Mengonfia said it is important for fathers or men to at all times see their kids as their friends and have conversations with them to help them make an informed decision in the society.
He said creating such a space is not only good for the child or children, but for the fathers as well because it creates that closeness. “If you do not have conversations with your kids, telling them what is right and wrong and someone outside there will definitely provide that opportunity, which might cause problems between you and your kids,” he said.
Giving a practical example, ED Mengonfia said, “I discuss with my kids, telling them what is right and wrong. I also tell them about the expected changes that will take place in their bodies so that when those do happen, they see it as something a natural occurrence and not something different.”
Speaking about rape and domestic violence in Liberia, the Liberian journalist said for too long they have reported about rape and the more they report, the more rape and domestic violence occur in the society.
“That is why in 2020 when rape cases were high, the late M. Trogen Kiazolu joined with few friends to establish Men Against Rape and Domestic Violence (MARDV) with the intention of talking with men who are the main perpetrators of SGBV to see the need to stop violating our children’s rights” the father of two girls told the interview.
Giving a statistic of some rape cases, Mengonfia said sexual violence cases hit a high of 2,708 in 2019, and 2,240 in 2020 stating that the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection’s annual statistical report on gender-based violence (GBV), says that some 1,975 cases were reported in 2022, 73.7% of which were rape, sexual assault, and other forms of sexual violations.
Liberia is a party to numerous international human rights treaties and instruments including the UN Resolution 1325, which obligates the Government to address sexual and other forms of gender-based violence but Mengonfia said, “Liberia has good laws and international treaties which Liberia has domesticated. We have law that speaks against public smoking, rape law, children law and many other laws but what I think we need now is to have one law that will call on us to obey all other laws that we have.”
On November 19, International Men’s Day is celebrated worldwide to bring out the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities.
Quoting John Locke, Mengonfia said the mind of a child is tabula rasa thus, men or fathers should introduce positive values to their children so that when they are being remembered, those positive values will speak for them. Dr. Charles Gbollie and Amb. Blamo who earlier appeared talked about the roles of fathers and mentorship in Liberian society.
