Group Urges African Leaders to End Gender Violence

Saturday November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. According to public opinion research firm, Afrobarometer, Gender-based Violence (GBV) ranks as the most important women’s right that Africans want their government and society to address. Yet, the group says more than half of Africans believe that women who report such crimes are likely to face criticism, harassment, or shaming from their community. Libuseng (dee-boo-seng) Malephane (mah-ley-pah-nee) is the Lesotho investigator for Afrobarometer. Malephane tells VOA’s James Butty, commemorating the day to eliminate Gender-Based Violence is important because many African women are still victims of the crime.