On 15th November 2018, we conducted a women to women dialogue at the PSA conference room. The purpose of this event was to bring women from different backgrounds together to openly discuss the causes of gender based violence and give suggestions on how its occurrence can be stopped.
Some of the issues raised and mentioned by the participants during the discussion as causes of gender based violence were:
- Gender roles or culture over generations contributing to the continuation and increase of gender based violence
- The failure of both men and women to cope with the changes in social roles as women are now becoming financially secure, opposed to being completely dependent on their husbands/ partners.
- GBV having become a common occurance in such a way that children find this normal and imitate the behaviour.
After a long and fruitful discussion the women made the following recommendations in order to curb GBV:
- All the participants agreed that the dialogue was very informative and they recommended that these dialougues be extended to other areas in Bosaso Town including the rural parts.
- They also noted that there is a need for work to be done around helping communities redefine gender roles.
- The also proposed that women strengthen their bonds to protect each other, children and men from violence.
- Furthermore they also recommended activities that teach human rights, anger management and conflict resolution as most people are unaware of how to resolve conflict or deal with emotions without violence.