Madagascar: Gender-based violence

UNFPA awarded Mialy Rajoelina a recognition trophy for her commitment to combating GBV. She reaffirms her determination to end these violence.

The First Lady of the Republic of Madagascar, Mialy Rajoelina, urges all stakeholders to work together to end gender-based violence (GBV). She calls on the government, technical and financial partners, donors, civil societies, to consider the issue of GBV as a priority in their strategic programming and to invest more in the promotion and empowerment of women.

“I call again for action, advocacy, so that together, we accelerate progress for women and girls. I urge and request everyone to invest in favor of women to accelerate the pace,” she said yesterday in her speech at the high-level dialogue on investment to accelerate equality and gender held at the Carlton Anosy hotel.

It has been 5 years since she made the elimination of GBV and the fight for gender equality her main focus. Significant progress has been made, including the establishment of a specialized center for combating GBV, professional training for victims, and the involvement of the national Police through the Proximity Female Brigade, the national Gendarmerie, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Population, Solidarity, and the Ministry of Public Health, as well as several associations, in this fight. The adoption of texts on GBV was also highlighted.

Major Challenges

However, the increase in violence against women, incest, shows that efforts must be redoubled to win the battle. The Ministry of Justice reported one hundred and forty-four cases of child rape during the months of January and February this year. According to other statistics, one in four girls/women has been a victim of at least one form of violence in their lifetime. Physical violence and sexual violence represent 30% and 14% respectively.

Madagascar ranks 14th in the world in countries with high proportions of girls married before the age of 18 (40.3% of girls married before the age of 18 and 12.7% before the age of 15). “The effectiveness of the fight against GBV and gender inequalities is reduced due to fragmented strategies, administrative slowness, amicable settlements for some cases. The challenges are hardly achievable through isolated approaches, when different actors act alone and without coordination. The complexity of these challenges requires a holistic and integrated approach, where actions and policies are better harmonized to maximize impact and ensure an effective fight against these deeply rooted issues in society,” insists the champion of the fight against GBV.

Miangaly Ralitera