“When the LC I chairman of our village got to know that I had been trained about sexual violence, he was very happy. Over the past 2 weeks, he has been speaking to parents of adolescent girls, especially those at risk of experiencing violence, directing them to me to teach them about violence. Nearly every day, I can speak to between 4 to 10 girls. I always teach them the forms of sexual violence, what to do to prevent it, how and where to report it.
I am grateful for the opportunity that Community Concerns provided me to be trained as a youth advocate. Personally, the training helped me to understand how to communicate better, especially when saying no to unwanted sexual advances. I learned that when I say no, I should stick to it and not only say no but also engage in actions that indicate that I am not interested. I also learnt how and where I can report.
While working with the LC I, I have realized that in our village, some adolescents are scared of reporting cases of violence due to shame associated with it; some are scared of what the perpetrator will do…while others do not know where to report. So, I have taught my fellow adolescent girls ways of preventing themselves from sexual violence. I have also taught them what to do in case they are violated and where to seek support.
I do this on a one-on-one basis (based on the LC recommendations) and other times, I speak with girls in groups. Last week, I came across a case of child abuse and neglect. One of our neighbour’s children… She is 14 years but looks after 3 children without any adult supervision. I also got to know that she was raped by one of the family members 2 months ago. So, I approached the LC and told him about this case. He spoke with the parents of this girl and there is now an adult supervisor. I also worked with the LC I to report this other case of rape. I hope to follow up on the case and see what happens.
I think Community Concerns should train more girls like me to teach other girls how to prevent and report sexual violence. So far, my biggest challenge is that I lack counseling skills. Some of the girls I speak to need an adult counselor to provide psychosocial support. I also suggest that the organization should provide T-Shirts to its youth advocates so that we can be easily identified in the villages. I like what I am doing and I know that it will bear fruits.”
“When the LC I chairman of our village got to know that I had been trained about sexual violence, he was very happy. Over the past 2 weeks, he has been speaking to parents of adolescent girls, especially those at risk of experiencing violence, directing them to me to teach them about violence. Nearly every day, I can speak to between 4 to 10 girls. I always teach them the forms of sexual violence, what to do to prevent it, how and where to report it.
I am grateful for the opportunity that Community Concerns provided me to be trained as a youth advocate. Personally, the training helped me to understand how to communicate better, especially when saying no to unwanted sexual advances. I learned that when I say no, I should stick to it and not only say no but also engage in actions that indicate that I am not interested. I also learnt how and where I can report.
While working with the LC I, I have realized that in our village, some adolescents are scared of reporting cases of violence due to shame associated with it; some are scared of what the perpetrator will do…while others do not know where to report. So, I have taught my fellow adolescent girls ways of preventing themselves from sexual violence. I have also taught them what to do in case they are violated and where to seek support.
I do this on a one-on-one basis (based on the LC recommendations) and other times, I speak with girls in groups. Last week, I came across a case of child abuse and neglect. One of our neighbour’s children… She is 14 years but looks after 3 children without any adult supervision. I also got to know that she was raped by one of the family members 2 months ago. So, I approached the LC and told him about this case. He spoke with the parents of this girl and there is now an adult supervisor. I also worked with the LC I to report this other case of rape. I hope to follow up on the case and see what happens.
I think Community Concerns should train more girls like me to teach other girls how to prevent and report sexual violence. So far, my biggest challenge is that I lack counseling skills. Some of the girls I speak to need an adult counselor to provide psychosocial support. I also suggest that the organization should provide T-Shirts to its youth advocates so that we can be easily identified in the villages. I like what I am doing and I know that it will bear fruits.”