UP CLOSE: THE GAMBIA
Lifting Up Women’s Voices THE PROBLEM: Almost all Gambians are victims of Yahya Jammeh’s 1994-2016 dictatorship, which was characterized by gross human rights violations, including torture, enforced disappearances, detention without trial and extrajudicial killings. As The Gambia embarks on a process of dealing with the dictatorship’s legacy, GIJTR is working with victims’ organizations in the country to enhance survivors’ knowledge of transitional justice and provide them platforms to share their stories. Women were uniquely affected by the Jammeh regime’s widespread use of sexual violence. However, despite suffering substantial harm, accessing the country’s Truth, Reconciliation and
“WILL…provided a space where I can open up about the trauma I went through and [learn] how I can get back into … society [despite] all the discrimination and the stigmatization.” —Female victim from Sintet, The Gambia The listening circles were integral to ensuring that women’s voices were incorporated into the TRRC’s findings and recommendations—a crucial step to ensuring that such violence is not repeated in the future. As Baldeh explains: “Through the listening circles, we were able to incorporate psychosocial support, and some of the victims after a while felt confident enough to come out and share their experiences of violence including [sexual and gender-based violence]. So, through the listening circles, we were able to
support women to go formally to the TRRC and give statements, and some of these women actually testified. But also, for some women who felt that they were not comfortable enough to take that route, they were able to give us their statements which we documented and used to produce a shadow report that showed the collective experiences of Gambian women during Jammeh’s dictatorship, which we gave to the TRRC for use in their report.” CONCRETE RESULTS: With GIJTR’s financial and programmatic support, WILL is able to address the needs it sees in communities as articulated by victims and survivors. As a result, women who endured sexual and gender-based violence under Jammeh were able to access the TRRC and have their experiences recorded in the public record. Some 60-80% of all women who gave testimony to the TRRC came to that process through WILL. Further, the listening circles played a key role in changing the discourse around gender roles in The Gambia. To give one example, discussions with women about reparations led to demands for women to be permitted to own
“ As a victim, this is the first time that I am engaged on an important issue like this. I have never been involved in a discussions that gave me an opportunity to say how I feel. This is important to me and makes me feel like a part of the entire transitional justice process. —Participant in a community dialogue on reparations led by GIJTR local partner, Women in Liberation and Leadership. WILL, The Gambia ”
Reparations Commission (TRRC) (2017- 2021) was not always feasible for them. For one, most hearings were located in the country’s capital, which is inaccessible to many women in other regions, who are largely expected to attend to their domestic duties at home regardless of their trauma and desire to give testimony. Additionally, even if they could make the trip to a hearing, many women felt prohibited from speaking about their experiences because of stigmas around sexual violence. As Fatou Baldeh, the founder of Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL), one of GIJTR’s local partners there explains, “Fear was going to prevent so many women from speaking.” THE SOLUTION: To correct this, GIJTR supported WILL to create “listening circles”—intimate gatherings where women could share their experiences with other women and trained support staff. The circles were conducted throughout the country, including in rural areas, where victims reported substantial impact on their well-being:
land, a transformative development. In this case, conversations about specific human rights violations developed in such a way as to address more systemic problems around justice and equality—and led to solutions. As one global scholar notes, GIJTR “is beginning to unpack what transformation approaches actually mean in the lexicon of transitional justice.”
“The safe spaces have helped me a lot; being among other women who have gone through the same experience as me and being able to share my story without being judged helps me free my mind and go on with my life easier.” —Female victim from Fatoto, The Gambia
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Transforming Transitional Justice: A Decade of Change, Growth & Sustained Impact—A Summary Report
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