Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Minister of Family, Inclusion and Social Development, Fernando Elísio Freire, said on Tuesday that the government is focused on the effectiveness of gender equality and attentive to violence through digital means used to persecute, humiliate and mistreat people.
Fernando Elísio Freire made these remarks to the press on the sidelines of the IV Gender Equality Forum, an initiative promoted by the Cape Verdean Institute for Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG), within the framework of the global campaign of the “16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women and Girls” which begins today, the 25th.
“We are very attentive, we are acting in order to, on the one hand, prevent and alert society that digital means, the internet, should be used for the sharing of knowledge, values and the common good and not to persecute, humiliate, mistreat, violate the rights of each individual,” he stated.
Given this fact, he acknowledges the seriousness of gender-based violence and emphasized that, in this matter, the country has adequate legislation and policy measures that converge in the right direction, but admits the need to strengthen awareness and the attitude that still exists in society.
When questioned about the outdated data on violence against women and girls in Cape Verde, Fernando Elísio Freire admitted the need for systematic data collection on a recurring basis.
“Unfortunately, these are the numbers we have since 2018, therefore we cannot extrapolate to 2025 in any way. But the fundamental point is that the Government is extremely focused on enabling effective gender equality in Cape Verde, through mainstreaming,” he stressed.
Regarding mainstreaming, he stated that Cape Verde is one of the few countries that has achieved this “very important” measure in the sense of equalizing opportunities between men and women, with actions focused on public policies aimed at people.
When questioned about why the data on violence against women is not disaggregated, given that psychological violence is considered far more serious, Fernando Elísio acknowledged the need for such work in order to understand data on psychological violence, stalking, bullying, and digital violence.
The representative of the joint office of UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF, David Matern, who considered the event an opportunity to reaffirm the organization’s collective commitment to human rights, democracy, inclusion, and gender equality, recalled recent celebrations and called for greater urgency in accelerating the agenda of parity, the elimination of violence, and full inclusion.
In the case of Cape Verde, he stated that the data reveals significant achievements, but also some challenges. The parity law established a minimum of 40 percent (%) for each sex on electoral lists, boosting gains at the municipal level, with 49% female representation, while representation in parliament is 38%.
The Forum, promoted by ICIEG under the motto “UNiTE 2025: End digital violence against all women and girls,” highlights digital violence as an emerging form of threat to women’s public, political, and social participation.
In this regard, David Matern, in his speech, called for responses to digital violence with norms, protocols, and support for victims.
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