Situation Analysis of Children and Women in the Gambia
DRAFT Report
Acknowledgements
Preface
Executive Summary
There has been important progress in addressing issues that affect the rights of children and women over the past ten years in The Gambia. National legislation and polices have been put in place that guarantee full equality for women and ensure that children have their rights realized. Programs focusing on meeting the needs and ensuring the rights of children and women are ongoing and greater attention at the national level is given to ensure that action is taken to support the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. (CEDAW).
Most recently, the Women’s Act 2010was passed through the National Assembly.This important and holistic piece of legislation clearly specifies measures that if fully enacted would go a long way to ensuring that women in The Gambia enjoyequity of rights and benefits. Rights regarding economic empowerment, equity in employment, access to quality healthcare, equal educational opportunities and minimizing the divisions that men and women face regarding social issues are clearly laid out in this comprehensive document. Nevertheless, the Act as passed has been heavily diluted from the original intent regarding some important issues such as inheritance, divorce and traditional harmful practices.
The needs and rights of children have been clearly articulated in The Children’s Act 2005. In full support of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this document details the rights of children to enjoy a safe and healthy life, to development to their full potential, and to fully exercise their rights as citizens.
Alongside these works of legislation, the government has fully committed itself to achieving the goals as set out in the Millennium Declaration. Significant advances have been made in achieving gender parity in basic education, improving access to clean water and reducing the incidence of childhood illnesses. While not all of the MDGs are on track to be fully realized by 2015, the efforts made thus far in reaching these goals, should contribute positively in addressing the needs of children and women.
While significant progress has been made as described above, there are still important issues such as the reduction of poverty, reducing infant and maternal mortality, and equalizing the disparities in earning power between men and women, which must be addressed in order to fully ensure the rights of children and women are met and safeguarded. The findings from the Situation Analysis indicate that in order to achieve full gender equity and ensure children have the rights which will enable them to reach their full potential, a stronger commitment to addressing some of the specific underlying causes of the issues raised and to close the gaps in budgetary allocations and programming is required. In summary there is much more work to be done to ensure children and women in The Gambia can fully exercise their rights.
Key Findings
Poverty is a major cause of, and underlies the majority of issues that negatively affect the rights of children and women. Poverty greatly increases the vulnerability of women and children to illness, poor education, abuse and exploitation. With over sixty percent of Gambians living under the National Poverty Line[1], this is perhaps the most important issue which needson-going attention.
While much needed legislation regarding rights of children and women has been formalized, the systems to fully implement the directives are not functioning to optimal levels. For example, child welfare units have not been established at police stations country-wide, reporting mechanisms for abuse and exploitation outside of the Greater Banjul Area are lacking, and regulatory guidelines and monitoring mechanisms on child protection issues are nonexistent at many levels. (There are no official child protection policies or standards that are enforced in child care institutions, orphanages, NGOs, etc)
Women and children are still largely left out of the decision making process at the family, community and national level. While the government has legislated specific provisions to guarantee their rights, women and children have little say over day to day decisions that affect their daily lives or larger issues that influence their future, such as education, health care or livelihood opportunities.
The most vulnerable persons and thereby those who are most at risk of not having their rights realized remain a relatively neglected population. There are not enough services available to meet their needs and even fewer opportunities for their active participation at any level in the decision making process.
Gender parity has been realized in primary education, with the percentage of girls surpassing the percentage of boys in enrolment. Yet enrolment rates in secondary and tertiary education remain significantly lower for girls than boys. Additionally, important factors such as corporal punishment and sexual harassment in schools have been identified during primary data collection exercises as some of thereasons for this lower level of enrolment and violate the fundament rights of children to a safe and conducive learning environment.
Sexual exploitation and sex tourism continue to present challenges in the protection of children and women from abuse, exploitation and harm. The Gambia has regrettably gained the unfavorable status of an international hot spot for sex tourists. This unwanted notoriety places women and children, especially those in dire economic situations at risk for sexual abuse, exploitation and illness.
During the primary data collection exercises, participants indicated that rural women are subjected to particularly difficult living conditions, with a long daily list of labour intensive tasks. In addition to the pressure of a heavy workload, women in rural communities do not have equal access to quality health care, opportunities for income generating activities, or input into local decision making. These factors can lead to greater vulnerability to risks, as for example in the case of pregnancy related deaths.
Contraceptive use remains relatively low with few women practicing family planning[2]. Family size is often the decision of the man, who as head of the household makes most of the decisions affecting the family. This has direct implications on the health and economic status of women, who as the primary caregivers in the family, have little time or energy (as affected by poor health) for economically lucrative activities or are not able to pursue higher levels of education (which impacts earning power).
Women make up approximately 45 percent of the Gambian labour force[3], but the majority of women work in low paying vocations such as agriculture, domestic work and as street or market vendors. This results, in part, to the disparity of earning power. (Women only earn approximately 63 cents for every dollar a man makes in terms of purchasing power parity[4].)
There has been an increase in immunisation rates in The Gambia, approaching close to universal coverage. Also the rate of infant mortality (children under one year) and under five mortality are decreasing which is a result of improved health care services for children. Nevertheless, maternal mortality rates are still high at 730/100,000 and efforts to reduce this have not been as successful as needed to meet the MGDs or other national targets.
Childhood malnutrition remains a problem, with high rates of stunting and malnutrition in children under five, especially in rural areas. (According to MICS 2005/06 rural malnutrition rates are almost double the urban rates for all three measurements of malnutrition.) There are structures that have been put in place, such as the National Nutrition Surveillance, which is carried out every six months in order to identify malnourished children or soon to be malnourished children for referral to community or local recuperation services.
In summary, there have been comprehensive measures developed which if successfully implemented would ensure that the rights of women and children are fully supported in Gambia society. Yet there continues to be large disparities of equity in realizing the full attainment of these rights. In order to continue to make progress on the measures which have been put in place and policies that have been developed, a stronger commitment to adequate funding, full participation of stakeholders, including target beneficiaries, and endorsing attitudal change needs to be made. This includes the full engagement of all the major stakeholders including government, donors, international and national NGOs and CBOs, private agencies and perhaps most importantly the children, women and men who are most affected.
Objectives
The overall objective of the Situation Analysis (SitAn) for Children and Women in the Gambia is to identify the issues and causes hindering the fulfillment of children’s and women’s rights, to analyze the capacity of duty bearers at all levels for meeting their obligations, to analyze the policy and legal frameworks for children, and make specific recommendations for future actions. In addition, the analysis identifies facilitating factors on which to build, and draws on opportunities and strategies for future action. The SitAn will also;
- Contribute to national research, formulating policies, legislation, and budgets.
- Serve as a reference for developing national plans, programmes and other processes
- Provide an assessment and analysis of the realization of the rights of children
- Identify the challenges concerning children using relevantly stratified data summaries
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1.Background and Justification for Study
As part of its programming process, UNICEF in addition to the UNDAF Common Country Assessment development process, undertakes a Situation Analysis to identify the most critical issues affecting the rights of children and women in a country. In The Gambia the last Situation Analysis (SitAn) was conducted in 2001 and since that time, much of the issues and indicators on these issues regarding the rights of children and women have changed. This SitAn 2010 will assess and analyze the nature and extent to which such changes have occurred using a human rights based approach and causality analysis, which seeks to identify the immediate causes, underlying causes and the structural or basic causes of the issues and problems confronting children and women in The Gambia.
Now is an appropriate time to carry out a new Situation Analysis, as UNICEF and The Government of The Gambia Country Programme of Cooperation 2007 – 2011 is in its second half of implementation and preparations for a new country programme have been initiated. An updated Situation Analysis is required to provide needed information on the changes in information and other emerging issues affecting children and women, identify the structural vulnerabilities and to contribute in the preparation of the Common Country Assessment and the United National Assistance Framework 2012-2016. It will also contribute to the new Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment for the Gambia 2012- 2015.
It is envisaged that this Situation Analysis will support the articulation and strengthening – through participatory means – of policy frameworks, strategies, and interventions at different levels of society that will achieve long term beneficial results for children and women in The Gambia.
1.2 Comparative General Review of Past Situation Analysis
There have been several Situation Analysis Reportsconducted and produced in The Gambia.The first three reports on the Situation Analysis of Children and Women were conducted in 1992, 1997 and 2001[5]. The most recent validated report was carried out in 2001 and recommended, among other issues that;
Recommendations from ‘The Situation of Children and Women’ Report[6]
Arresting the HIV/AIDS pandemic in The Gambia should be of paramount concern in the provision of health services,
Setting up Children and Women’s Rights Commission should be a key feature of the rights promotion and protection programme, which should be empowered to oversee the harmonisation of CRC and CEDAW and the enactment of comprehensive children’s legislation that will combine and expand on the legislation, which are already in existence.
Capacity building for improved data collection, analysis and compilation at the national level.
Differentiating programming based on regional variations that address specific disparities, especially for the most vulnerable.
There has been progress in realizing some of the recommendations listed above. The National Women’s Commission was established and has been actively promoting the rights of women, but a joint Women and Children’s Commission or a separate Children’s Commission has not been set up. Nevertheless, in support of the UNCRC and CEDAW,The Children’s Act 2005, the Women’s Act 2010, The Trafficking Act and the Tourism Act have been legislated in order to address some of the major issues which affect the rights of children and women. While strong legislative measures have been made, implementation has not been as rigorous to ensure that children and women rights are safeguarded. (Chapter 6 provides more information on International and National Legislation and Policies.)
There have also been increased efforts to collect and analyze data on issues related to women and children. A computerized Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) has been completed and the Education Management Information System (EMIS) is set up for the analysis of regularly collected data.GAMINFO has been developed in order to consolidate information from various social service sectors into one system. Nevertheless, the collection of relevant data for analysis and action is an area that needs continued strengthening and support. For example some important information on social welfare issues such as incidents of domestic violence, rape cases, and the number of street children are not readily (if at all) available.
1.3 Human Rights Based Approach
A human rights-based approach is a conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. It seeks to analyze inequalities which lie at the heart of development problems and redress discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede development progress.
Under a human rights-based approach, the plans, policies and processes of development are anchored in a system of rights and corresponding obligations established by international law. This helps to promote the sustainability of development work, empowering people themselves—especially the most marginalized—to participate in policy formulation and hold accountable those who have a duty to act.
As an international development organization, tasked by its mandate and mission statement to advocate for the protection of children's and women’s rights, UNICEF has worked since the 1989 adoption of the CRC to identify ways in which normative processes of international human rights law can inform and guide development work for children and women. In 1998, with the issuance of Executive Directive 1998-2004, UNICEF adopted the Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming.
There are two main rationales for a human rights-based approach: (a) the intrinsic rationale, acknowledging that a human rights-based approach is the right thing to do, morally or legally; and (b) the instrumental rationale, recognizing that a human rights-based approach leads to better and more sustainable human development outcomes. In practice, the reason for pursuing a human rights-based approach is usually a blend of these two[7].
1.4 Conceptual Framework
A Conceptual Framework is an analytical model developed through scientific evidence, global research, local knowledge and lessons learned from evaluations that establishes a structured way of assessing an issue. A Conceptual Framework helps:
- To organize or cluster the multiple causes into a pattern of relationship, and to identify immediate, underlying or basic causes;
- To ask the appropriate questions so that all main contributing factors are considered – for example, a low rate of vaccination may be the result of an ineffective health system
- To convince partners to explore specific underlying or basic causes that they may have been reluctant to consider.
A Conceptual Framework provides insight into the nature and structure of social services in terms of access, use, equality and quality of services. It examines information on some of the key aspects of the family and community situation, socio-cultural attitudes and practices, laws, policies and institutional capacities.
The situation analysis reviews the causes and effects of important issues using participatory methodologies such as problem tree analysis and responsibilities matrix. The following diagrams outline the flow of a conceptual framework.