‘SBGV Survivors Need Safe Home Too’

-Frances Greaves Recommends

By Esau J. Farr
The President of the National Civil Society Council of Liberia and the Executive Director of the Voice of the Voiceless (VOV) has recommended for the establishment of free treatment and safe homes for SGBV survivors in Liberia. SGBV is Sexual and Gender-based Violence.

Madam Frances Greaves lamented that unless rape survivors who have rights and access to free treatments, the case is different with SGBV survivors or victims.
According to her, over the years, survivors of rape have enjoyed free treatments and safe homes, but little or nothing is being done to provide said services to SGBV survivors which she sees as a serious challenge for women’s activists in the country.
Madam Greaves furthered that she has observed over the years that most health practitioners who handle SGBV cases at various health centers or facilities in Liberia are not trained to expectation.
According to her, such category of people need special attention and consoling as a means of healing their wounds and trauma that they suffer.
The Voice of the Voiceless Executive Director made the assertions when she served as one of the panelists for discussion on SGBV cases in Liberia as part of program marking the celebrations of ‘Orange Day’ in the auditorium of the University of Liberia Chinese Building on the Fendall campus.
The women’s rights activist wants specially trained health practitioners to cater to cases of that nature arising as a result of the actions of SGBV perpetrators.
Madam Greaves is one of many women’s activists in Liberia who have been in the vanguard of preaching for the protection and rights of women through the launch of different campaigns.
It can be recalled that her organization, Voice of the Voiceless was part of the 2013 regional campaign #Bring Back Our Girls Campaign# jointly carried out by all women organizations in Liberia including the Liberia Women Media Action Committee (LIWOMAC), Action Aid Liberia and the Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) amongst others.
The campaign was in solidarity with scores of girls abducted (kidnapped) by the Islamic military group, Boko Haram based in northern Nigeria who later used the girls as sex slaves and sought ransom for their individual release.