Our beginnings
Since 2017, Amnesty International has used human rights education (HRE) to combat female genital mutilation (FGM) and child early/forced marriage in over 60 communities in Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Sierra Leone (West Africa). In 2024, we expanded efforts to include all forms of gender-based violence (GBV), reaffirming our commitment to safer communities.
Locations
About our approach:
Human rights education is a key strategy deployed by Amnesty International to empower individuals to develop skills and attitudes that promote equality, dignity, and respect in their communities and wider society. It addresses gender-based violence by improving understanding of the root causes and promoting positive changes in attitudes and behaviour. While laws and policies are essential in combatting GBV, they effectively require coordinated efforts across various levels of society and institutions. One of Amnesty International’s approaches involves training professionals who are embedded in the communities where we work so they can become key players in preventing GBV and ensuring victims/survivors access to appropriate support.
Building knowledge and understanding through key community members
Teachers, healthcare providers, and journalists are vital advocates for change. By incorporating human rights education into their roles, they can contribute to preventing gender-based violence and to fostering a safer, more just world for women, girls, and youth. This programme supports Amnesty International’s HRE Coordinators to collaborate with these key professionals across three countries.
Teachers as respected mentors
Teachers are often the first to witness violence in schools and also play a key role as trusted figures for students facing abuse outside of school. With training in human rights and gender-based violence, teachers can build their knowledge and become better equipped to support their students and connect with the wider community.
The training, which can last from one to three days depending on the context, is divided into various modules, covering human rights, child rights, mechanisms for protecting the rights of girls and women, safeguarding, gender-based violence, and child protection. Amnesty International uses participatory methods such as group work, drawing, film screenings and debates, as well as games. These methods not only allow for the transmission of knowledge in an engaging way but also help to strengthen the teachers’ capacities by introducing them to new educational approaches and techniques which they can later apply in their work with children. Rigobert Kaly Boubane, who was part of a group of 20 teachers from the Tabadian Dialico community to be trained, now feels he is better placed to tackle these difficult issues and to support his students.
The training was very interesting. It provided a lot of information. There were a lot of things I didn’t know. It’s true that I knew some things about human rights and children’s rights, but there were other things I hadn’t understood, like gender-based violence – I used to confuse gender with sex – but now I have a clear understanding
Rigobert Kaly Boubane, Headmaster and Year 6 teacher
Across all three countries, teachers are and continue to be key partners in supporting learning and action to combat GBV. In Burkina Faso, for example, another method used to raise teachers’ awareness about gender-based violence in schools is the organisation of Razz ball games between students, as well as between students and teachers. In May 2024, over 150 students and teachers took part in this activity. Such events provide a platform for discussions between students, parents, and teachers about the causes and consequences of GBV. The enthusiasm surrounding this activity led the educational community to organise inter-school competitions to see which would become the champion of challenging GBV in Burkina Faso.
In Sierra Leone, as a result of training and awareness-raising activities conducted within communities, teachers coordinated with students to display banners and posters and distribute flyers within their schools and communities demanding equal rights and justice for children and women.
In 2024, over 250 teachers were reached in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Sierra Leone as part of this HRE programme, through targeted training and other community awareness-raising activities.
Midwives as vital support for women
Midwives play a key role in educating mothers about the harms of gender-based violence, including FGM and child marriage. Thanks to the tailored training provided by the programme, healthcare providers are now better equipped to detect cases of GBV and provide support to women.
The final evaluations of these training sessions showed that participants had developed a better understanding of concepts related to gender, the different forms of violence, sexual and reproductive rights, as well as the appropriate attitude and behaviour to adopt when interacting with victims/survivors of gender-based violence. In Senegal, trained midwives and matrons* have launched initiatives to raise awareness, encourage prevention, and connect women and girls to support services, providing a vital pathway for GBV survivors to access help.
“I am a grandmother and matron; the HRE training I received today has allowed me to fully understand the cause of some of the pain experienced in the past.”
A community nurse
In the Fatick region, after participating in a training organised by Amnesty International, a midwife ran 3 awareness-raising sessions on gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health and rights for 45 adolescent girls. In another region, a head nurse who also took part in the training ran three awareness-raising sessions for 90 women. In 2024, as part of this HRE programme, over 70 healthcare providers were reached in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Journalists as transmitters of information
Journalists play a crucial role in educating the public about GBV. Amnesty International has engaged with journalists as part of this programme to help strengthen their knowledge on the harmful impacts of GBV, including FGM and child marriage.
In Burkina Faso, Amnesty International organises joint training sessions for journalists and healthcare providers on human rights and gender-based violence. This initiative helps to create links and bridges between these two professions, thereby increasing the impact of awareness-raising efforts within communities. Following these training sessions, journalists invited nurses to participate in radio shows. This platform allowed the nurses to explain the short and long-term consequences of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), unsafe abortions when using traditional medicines (herbs, plants, and potions), sexual assaults, and early and forced pregnancies. These radio programmes are broadcasted to isolated communities, and people have the opportunity to call in to testify or ask questions.
Through his articles and radio programmes, Michel Bancé, a journalist at a local radio station, highlights the role of community leaders and authorities in preventing violence, promoting accountability, and informing victims about available resources and legal support. He helps shift public attitudes, reduce impunity for perpetrators, and spread knowledge about available resources and legal avenues for victims.
© Moussa Ouedraogo/Amnesty International Burkina Faso
I didn’t know anything about GBV. Now, I can tell people what GBV means and how it negatively impacts the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.
Michel Bancé, Journalist at a local radio station
In Sierra Leone, the training sessions on human rights and GBV cover an even broader audience, from community leaders, healthcare providers, journalists, and law enforcement officers to faith leaders and other community stakeholders. According to the HRE Coordinator, it is an opportunity to create and deepen partnerships and collaboration between these stakeholders to combat GBV at the community level more effectively. In 2024, as part of this HRE programme, over 40 journalists were reached in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Outcomes and Impact Since 2020
Amnesty International’s work has reached thousands of people since 2020, improving their knowledge and understanding of gender-based violence and equipping them with the skills and tools necessary for taking action within their professions and communities.
- Over 40,000 professionals have been trained
- Around 830 independent community-led actions have been taken across the three countries during the programme by the professionals who received training
- More than 52 Human Rights Clubs have been established in schools to educate school children
Between 2020 and 2023, this work led to almost 70 cases of FGM, child marriage and other forms of abuse and violence being reported, 20 police investigations being conducted, 9 prosecutions initiated, and 16 victims/survivors receiving direct support. The programme has also contributed to strengthening legislation in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone. These results demonstrate that building knowledge, skills and action through human rights education can make all the difference in combating GBV. It is community action that will have the greatest impact on allowing girls and boys to live free of violence.
Background data on the extent of GBV in the region
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in West and Central Africa, 10 to 30% of ever-partnered women aged 15–49 have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in the last year. Harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage remain persistently high in the region. The prevalence of FGM in Burkina Faso is 75,8%, 23,3% in Senegal and 83% in Sierra Leone. As for child marriage, the prevalence in Burkina Faso is 51% under the age of 18,31% in Senegal and 30% in Sierra Leone, according to Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage.