Women, youth unemployment fuelling sub-regional crime
Between 3,800 and 5,000 women and girls are said to be victims of human trafficking in the West African sub-region yearly.
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As victims, they experience violent extremism and other criminal activities, as well as indignities, including death; gross human rights abuses; abductions; sex slavery; rape and other forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.
However, according to the Director, ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), Mrs Sandra Oulate Fattoh, “One very important emerging dimension of the dynamics of organised crime in West Africa that needs critical attention is the growing involvement of women and the youth, both as active participants and victims”.
At a regional forum on the gender and youth dimensions of financial and cross-border criminality in West Africa in Accra, Mrs Oulate Fattoh said the fact that a significant number of women and youth were out of school and unemployed was a fertile ground for them to become targeted by terrorists and other criminals for their networks.
Forum
The three-day forum was organised jointly by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and EGDC in Accra, which brought together security and gender experts, as well as ministers of Gender from 13 ECOWAS countries.
Mrs Oulate Fattoh said the growing role of women and young people in the workings of economic and financial crimes in West Africa posed a threat to the economic stability and development of the sub-region.
At the same time, she said that phenomenon also offered great opportunities for combating that menace in a comprehensive and sustained manner.
She said it was, therefore, critical for women and the youth to be placed at the heart of the fight to “dismantle the tapestry of transnational financial criminality and violent extremism that was slowly engulfing the ECOWAS region.
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“Mainstreaming gender and youth issues into the relevant policies and mechanisms will not only bring about equitable participation in decision making on issues bordering on the prevention of economic and financial crimes and violent extremism, it will also ensure a more committed appropriation of the process, transparency, accountability and strong sense of purpose,” she stated.
ECOWAS region
Deputy Director General, GIABA Mr Brain Anku Sapati, said ECOWAS had envisioned to create a borderless, peaceful, prosperous and cohesive region built on good governance where people had the capacity to access and harness its enormous resources through the creation of opportunities for sustainable development and environmental preservation by the year 2020.
Today, he said, criminals “take advantage of the porosity of borders and play on the frequent reluctance of law enforcement authorities to engage in complicated and expensive transnational investigations and prosecutions”.
He said the mission of GIABA was to promote concerted actions in the design and diligent implementation of harmonised anti-money laundering and combat financing of terrorism in West Africa.
Opening the conference, the Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), Mrs Gifty Twum Ampofo, called for the need to address the issue in an all- inclusive manner by addressing the disparities in gender and high rate of youth unemployment.
She called for the need to further invest in quality education in order to produce the right set of people for development.
The Director, Department of Gender of the MoGCSP, Rev. Dr Mrs Comfort Asare, said the upsurge of social vices such as human trafficking, drug trafficking and abuse, ‘Sakawa’, ‘419’ among others, were generally gaining grounds among the youth and women in the sub-region.
As such, the protection of the future of the youth and women could be strongly focused on a pragmatic plan of action, as well as coordinated regional action, with the commitment of all countries.
Writer's email:rebecca.quaicoe-duho@graphic.com.gh