The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Republic of Guinea enhance prevention and response to gender-based violence and sexual harassment

ECOWAS and the Republic of Guinea enhance prevention and response to gender-based violence and sexual harassment through national training workshop.

The ECOWAS Gender Development Center (EGDC), in partnership with the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children, and Vulnerable Persons of the Republic of Guinea, organised a four-day national training workshop on ECOWAS tools for the prevention of and response to gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual harassment in workplaces and educational settings, from the 20th to 23rd of August 2025 in Conakry.

The national training workshop forms part of the implementation of action plans arising from ECOWAS regional policies on the prevention of and response to GBV and sexual harassment in workplaces and educational settings, adopted in 2021. The training brought together participants from the Ministry responsible for Women, Children and Vulnerable Groups; the Ministry of Health (including medical and paramedical professionals); the Ministry of Justice (notably judicial actors such as judges and lawyers); the Ministry of Youth; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Labour; judicial police officers; and social actors including civil society organisations working on the issue.

In his welcome address, the Director of the ECOWAS National Office, Ambassador Elhadj Ibrahim Diallo, who is also the Director of African Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, and Guineans Abroad, emphasized that GBV remains one of the most widespread and persistent violations of human rights, significantly impacting the dignity, health, and well-being of survivors, most of whom are women and girls. He also noted that, beyond their social effects, GBV hampers economic development, erodes social cohesion, and threatens peace and security within communities.

For his part The ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea, Ambassador Louis-Blaise AKA-BROU, praised the efforts of the Guinean government, which, through the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and Vulnerable Persons, has marked a decisive turning point in the fight for zero tolerance of gender-based violence and sexual harassment. In his view, the various strategies, preventive measures and support for survivors developed by the Republic of Guinea fit perfectly into ECOWAS’ regional fight to address the major challenges of gender inequality. He also urged participants to work together to address the many challenges and eradicate flagrant violations against women and girls.

Speaking at the opening, General Roger Yassy Klönon, Secretary-General of the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children, and Vulnerable Persons, thanked the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) for hosting the training in Guinea. He emphasized the timeliness of the initiative, given recent incidents of violence in the country and stated that the workshop would enhance the capacities of stakeholders in preventing and responding to gender- based violence and sexual harassment. He then officially declared the National Training programme open.

This capacity-building forms part of the priority actions of the ECOWAS regional strategy to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence and to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, as well as the ECOWAS policy on sexual harassment in workplaces and educational institutions and the related action plans.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).