The TRRC Child Protection and Gender Issues Committee chairperson has urged the nation’s women and girls to utilise the free 24-hour support line to report cases of gender-based violence in the country.

Ms Anna Ngulu Jones said at a press conference on Wednesday “we welcome the creation of the 24-hour toll-free Gender Based Violence (GBV) hotline in The Gambia, a partnership between the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare and Paradise foundation as a first step to curbing this crisis.

“We call on women and girls to make use of this service by calling the number 1313.”

Ms Jones’s call was made as The Gambia joined countries around the world in a 16-day activism campaign to end gender-based violence. 

Women and girls around the world will face gender-based violence at least three times in their lifetime, study showed. 

In The Gambia women and girls disproportionately suffer from gender-based violence as compared to men and boys. 

Reporting by Adama Makasuba