Gender Issues

Our Women are our priority; therefore, we have a special program dedicated to issues regarding them, their relationship with men and children. Most specifically, there well-being.

Youth Crime Watch of Liberia (YCWL) gender program works to foster women's empowerment and gender equality in schools and communities. YCWL has identified four strategic areas that are of critical concern for the achievement of gender equality and women's empowerment and which guide our awareness raising activities:

• Reducing gender based torture including rape, forced sexual violence against inmates of both gender, etc.
• Ending Violence Against Women
• Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls
• Education Promotion programs-mentoring, career development, sexual and reproductive health

Youth Crime Watch of Liberia places the advancement of women's protection at the centre of all its efforts. All our programmes contribute to achieving a society in which young people can think, feel, and live safely. We promote society where all young people, especially women, can realize their potential, contribute to society and respect human rights and dignity. This, we believe, is achievable on when women are placed in the forefront.

Our Fight against Rape in Liberia

Rape is a very essential threat to female safety in Liberia. The government of Liberia led the way in the fight against rape by introducing new and very strong legislations to curtail the act. The United Nations Mission in Liberia also supported the government by creating new clinics to provide free treatment and counselling for rape victims. From our end, Youth Crime Watch of Liberia is working overnight to ensure the safety of women, especially the ones entering our programs. We stage rape awareness campaigns to keep the public aware of the side effect of rape on a woman.

Sometimes, people commiting these crimes make requests to have an out-of-court settlement, which entails the victor giving some amount of money to the victim. This is mostly done under the name, "Family Way". YCWL discourages the so-called "Family Way" of solving rape issues not only because such solution does not properly redress the issue, but also leaves the victim with improper counslling, treatment and rehabilitation since the case is kept away from authority.

Besides men raping women, they also have a means of manipulating them using what we call "Cash Violence". In the case of cash violence, men approach women with the idea that they are establishing a relationship. Our women is most cases accept, considering the position of the man. After a while when the man feels bored with the woman, he leaves her without any form of benefit. This causes serious psychological effect on the woman and may damage her entire future. Youth Crime Watch of Liberia is now pushing for a legislation that would make this act illegal and punishable under the law.

Gender Plan, 2010

Our Gender Desk Plan provides its outlines on how Youth Crime Watch of Liberia will work in partnership with Community Youth Groups, Schools, United Nations agencies and civil society organizations to contribute to the achievement of the Millienium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed goals.