Covalima, December 11, 2024 (Média Democracia) – Starting from January to December 2024, Tilomar Health Center recorded cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) with the types of Domestic and Physical Violence with a total of 12 cases in Maudemo Village, Tilomar, Covalima.
In an interview with a midwife who is also the focal point for domestic violence cases, Ercia Maia Batista de Jesus said that so far, the Tilomar Health Center has served many cases of domestic violence against women and the health center can only record domestic violence cases, so that it can provide services to victims who experience domestic violence from their partners.
“So far we have provided services to victims who have experienced violence in the Emergency Room because a safe place has not been available so we always provide services to victims in the Emergency Room, we know that the victim’s case is secret and confidential so there must be a separation between patients and survivors because they are different. So, so far we are always ready at the health center to provide services to victims.” Said Ercia Maia Batista
She continued, from January to December, Tilomar Health Center served 12 victims who experienced violence from their partners, the violence experienced by the victims was of the type of Domestic and Physical Violence that they obtained from their partners, for the other types of violence still not recorded at the health center.
“I am also formed who has just completed special training on how to provide services to victims, and the training we attended received support from UNFPA and several NGOs and Hamnasa NGO. From this training there is a very big change because it can increase our capacity to help us to serve victims who experience domestic violence and other violence if it occurs in Tilomar.” She said
She continued, before there was a safe place, victims always came to receive services, then if the victims felt better, they could go home if they wanted and there were no victims who stayed at the health center, but now there is a safe place so the hope is that they can provide services to victims and they can stay in this safe place and for services to victims there are five health workers who provide services and five of them have completed training from UNFPA.
UNFPA Gender-Based Violence Program Manager, Dircio Francisco Xavier Fatima Ximenes continued that today a safe place for victims has been inaugurated because we know that in Covalima, especially in Tilomar, there has been a lot of gender-based violence, so UNFPA wants to work with partners, especially the Ministry of Health, to be able to see this case directly, so that they can provide a response to victims who experience violence from their partners. This inauguration is the seventh time and this is a project from KOICA and this inauguration is an important step to strengthen the implementation and reduce gender-based violence for gender itself.
“Safe place which established with identified health facilities to provide first-line support components of essential services for survivors and then ensure that survivors have privacy and confidentiality, so that health workers can talk freely with victims to provide better services for victims,” said UNFPA Gender Based Violence Programme Manager, Dircio Francisco Xavier
He added that the equipment in the safe place is of two types, such as medical and non-medical equipment provided by UNFPA for the safe place in serving victims. Non-medical equipment such as tables, chairs, and medical equipment such as medicines and others to help victims when they arrive at a safe place.
Reported by : Domingas
Picture by : Media Officer UNFPA