Domestic Violence and Sexually transmitted diseases: how many women in Liberia and Sierra Leone experience it during prenatal?

Yesterday I had a meeting with Chouchou Namegabe, who is the coordinator at Association des Femmes des Medias du Sud Kivu(AFEM) and we talked about Violence against women in Liberia and Congo DRC and the aftermath. Since she has been working with women who have been abused violently, I asked her whether these women who had been victims of sexual and physical abuse had been checked for sexually transmitted diseases. With my new idea I believe that these women are more likely to experienced a sexually transmitted disease(STDs).

These violence and sexual violence women are major health problems and huge violations of girls and women's human rights which are not talked about in communities where these women live. It is not just the campaign and demonstrations, it is about reaching out to these girls and women who are traumatized because of these acts. Many girls and women who have undergone the procedure are been stigmatized in their communities.

Therefore, before we wait for the laws to be pass and implement let us give space to these girls and women in order to listen to their stories. New laws are made for the city people and they are not been enforced. Yet the poor victims are still suffering  and have their cases still pending in court.

Listen to One Liberia Advocacy online Radio as we do group discussion on Domestic Violence and Sexually transmitted diseases. http://www.oneliberiaradio.org

Sexually Transmitted Infection Education among Teens and Women

STDs are more common than you think. How many young people really want to know prevalence information for their communities in Liberia and Sierra Leone? I strongly believe that if you have the knowledge will increase their perceive susceptibility to STDs and desire to take precautionary action.

When is it safe to tell your partner you have Sexually Transmitted Infection in Liberia and Sierra Leone?

When is it safe  to tell your partner you have Sexually Transmitted Infection in Liberia and Sierra Leone?

STI stigma is so huge in Liberia and Sierra Leone and most people it is  difficult for them to understand that you are affected by one or many STDs. While I was growing up STIs was not talked about to our girlfriends not even our sisters. Sexually transmitted was known to us but not talked about in our gossips. Most of us as young people was easy to interpret STIs as punishment for promiscuity. Most young girls my age with STIs were often characterized as careless, whore, messy, dirty, or stupid. When someone is diagnosed with STD no matter how positive she was in her decisions, no matter how choosy  she was she was going to be talked about to other friends and faced with stigma. This was extremely difficult because no one was  prepared  for this, and she will almost certainly go through it alone.

I am begging  all my people (Men and women) here let us talk  to our children so they can know that STIs are preventable.

Yes. Each STIs causes different health problems. But overall, untreated STIs can cause cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, pregnancy problems, widespread injection to  other parts of the body, organ damage, and even death.

Listen to One Liberia Advocacy Radio online for facts about STIs

The Red Elephant Foundation: Straight from the Heart

The Red Elephant Foundation: Straight from the Heart: Image (c) Agnes Fallah Kamara Umunna Agnes Fallah Kamara Umunna is the founder of Straight From The Heart and the brains behind t...

How Can We Reduce STDs Among Adolescences Between 12-25 Years And Women Between 26-45 Years In Banjor Community In Monrovia, Liberia?

How Can We Reduce STDs Among Adolescences Between 12-25 Years And Women Between 26-45 Years In Banjor Community In Monrovia, Liberia?

In Liberia and Sierra Leone, where I grew up sexually active teens experience high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and women face excessive risk. STIs are more likely to remain undetected in teens and women than in men, resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment, and untreated STIs are more likely to lead to complications in women, such as pelvic inflammatory disease and cervical cancer.

In Banjor community Monrovia Liberia, many teens and women do not have money to go to health centers and hospitals to get tested for STIs. Poverty and other socioeconomic factors contribute to STI risk in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Teens and women living in poverty may not perceive the risk of STIs or may not practice preventive behaviors. As most of us from Liberia and Sierra Leone know by now that cultural traditions that value women’s passivity and subordination also diminish the ability of many of our daughters, sister and mothers to adequately protect themselves, to refuse unwanted sex, and to negotiate condom use.

As domestic violence is big in these two countries, dating violence and sexual assault play a role in STI transmission in our villages, towns and cities. Majority of our daughter, sisters and mothers who experience dating violence are less likely to use condoms and feel more uncomfortable negotiating condom use. I have talked to some of my former story tellers who were female ex-fighters who I have taken to hospital in Liberia had been physically or sexually abused.

In Liberia and Sierra Leone, we need to improve the health conditions of teens and women because STDs are a very serious problem not only because they are widespread , but also because they may have delayed, long term consequences, including poor maternal health, ectopic pregnancy, infant illness and death, cervical cancer, infertility and increases susceptibility to HIV.

Many teens and women are really suffering these and other effects of STDS and hinder their ability to provide for themselves and their families and also contribute to their communities. How can we reduce STIs among adolescences between 12-25 years and women between 26-45 years in Banjor Community in Monrovia, Liberia?

Now am looking for any foundations, organizations and individuals who will help us set a health center for teens and women to obtain professional assistance to prevent STIs and avoid transmitting infection and receives treatments. 

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