Africa-Press – Mauritius. The imperative to provide an effective support to enable victims of gender-based violence to come forward and report incidents of violence and harassment, whether at the hospitals or at the police station, without shame and fear, was brought forth by the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, this afternoon, at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis.
In a statement, after chairing the seventh High-Level Committee on the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence, the Prime Minister affirmed that the most serious impediment to the elimination of gender-based violence was that victims felt ashamed or scared to report their abusive partners to the authorities and institutions.
He deplored that many cases of gender-based violence went unreported despite several mechanisms put in place to support and protect victims. He assured that Government was working hard to provide the right space and support to help victims break the silence.
In this endeavour, the Prime Minister invited the population to join the fight against domestic abuse, and stated that people have to report such incidents so that immediate intervention measures can be taken.
Mr Jugnauth asserted that the onus was on everyone to alert authorities on gender-based violence and encouraged family members and neighbours to download the mobile application LESPWAR, set up to ensure a rapid response to cases of domestic violence.
Regarding the mandate of the High-Level Committee, the Prime Minister stated that the meeting enabled stakeholders to monitor and evaluate the progress made on the implementation of recommendations under the National Strategy and Action Plan of the High-Level Committee.
He expressed satisfaction with the works that have been undertaken since the launch of the Action Plan two years back, but stressed that more needs to be done.
Accordingly, the priority areas mentioned by the Prime Minister which required more attention in the fight against gender-based violence were mindset shifts and proper training.
He spoke out against the mindset still ingrained in societies across the world, including Mauritius, where women and girls were viewed as second class citizens. He was adamant that men, boys, women and girls shared the same human rights and deserved the same respect.
Hence, Mr Jugnauth underscored the importance of awareness-raising initiatives, not only to change outlooks and behaviours, but also to increase knowledge on harassment and abuse at work or at home and on the different forms of violence.
He listed out programmes being spearheaded by the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, in collaboration with the Mauritius Institute of Education and other stakeholders, to educate children on gender-equality, human rights and mutual respect so as to combat stereotypes contributing to violence.
With regard to training, the Prime Minister put forward that capacity building has to be continuously conducted for people working with victims and survivors in light of the detrimental physical and psychological impact of domestic abuse and violence.
For her part, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, Mrs Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah insisted that domestic abuse and violence has no place in modern Mauritius.
She broached on the role of education in the early years of a child with emphasis on the primacy of mutual respect to bring about a change in mindset.
Like the Prime Minister, she appealed to the population to download the LESPWAR application, and to use this tool to assist any member of society in need of help against domestic violence.
It is recalled that an Inter-Ministerial High-Level Committee on Gender-Based Violence under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister has been set up to address the scourge of domestic violence.
The National Strategy and Action Plan for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence in the Republic of Mauritius 2020-2024 was formulated by the High-Level Committee and launched in November 2020.
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