Strategies provided to female entrepreneurs for combating gender-based violence
Dar es Salaam. To combat gender-based violence, including sexual harassment of female entrepreneurs, the organization Her Initiative has launched Ongea Hub, a digital platform that helps women report incidents of gender-based violence.
Through this platform, women can connect with authorities offering legal, psychological, emotional, and social support via a website and an AI system using SMS. Ongea Hub is part of the Panda Chat platform, which links entrepreneurs with various experts.
Speaking to journalists on January 7, 2024, Lydia Charles, Founder and Director of Her Initiative, highlighted the struggles faced by young women in their businesses, including gender-based violence and sexual harassment, which hinder their economic progress.
Lydia explained that many victims, due to fear and lack of knowledge about their rights, fail to report these incidents, allowing such acts to continue in the community. “This enables these acts to persist, making it harder for different stakeholders to stop them,” she said.
To address this, victims can now report incidents like sexual harassment and receive help from experts directly through their phones. “Fighting sexual harassment and violence requires collective effort. This platform connects us all to create a safe space for female entrepreneurs to ask difficult questions about gender-based violence and get answers,” Lydia explained.
She also introduced their campaign, "Haki Haiuzwi" (Rights Are Not for Sale), which aims to train leaders to fight sexual harassment among young female entrepreneurs. “These leaders will visit different markets to educate entrepreneurs about their rights, responsibilities, and gender-based violence,” she added.
Additionally, the platform provides female entrepreneurs with support for various business challenges by connecting them with experts through their phones. “Education alone isn’t enough to overcome the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs. We need to empower them by offering technical and professional support, especially in the digital world,” Lydia stated.
For her part, Letisia Mswaki mentioned that the existence of this platform will help young women affected by gender-based violence to easily access free legal and psychological support.
