Unaccompanied minors in Burkina Faso are constantly at risk of abuse and violence. With the support of the European Union, we assist children and girls who are victims of violence and exploitation through child protection activities and awareness-raising on gender-based violence
Among the 2 million displaced persons currently counted in Burkina Faso – out of a total population of around 22 million – there are many children who have lost their parents as a result of armed conflict or who have been separated from their families during displacement, although there is no precise estimate at present. These minors are constantly at risk of abuse and violence and are among those who pay the highest price for the very serious situation in the country: one of the poorest in the world, where 40% of the population -7.3 million people – live below the poverty line. Among the reasons that force men, women and children to leave their homes are insecurity due to the presence of non-state armed groups, which has increased since 2015 in several areas of the country, and poverty, which is also determined by the problems faced by agriculture due to climate change.
Salomé was also left without a parent; she is 17 years old and from Bassiéli. “I lost my mother when I was very young”,she says. “My father remarried, we all lived together in Fada, but then one day he decided to leave with his new wife and abandoned us“. Salome told our aid workers about a difficult childhood and adolescence, the journey she undertook with her elder sister to return to their home village of Bassiéli, the route diverted several times because of the dangers and the decision not to continue her studies for lack of money.
INTERSOS activities
In this difficult context, INTERSOS, with the support of the European Union, helps children and girls who are victims of violence, exploitation, discrimination and abuse in the eastern part of Burkina Faso, in the provinces of Gourma, Tapoa, Komondjari, Gnagna and Kompienga.
We conduct awareness-raising sessions with children on gender-based violence and child protection and distribute dignity kits to women and girls containing useful hygiene and personal care items. We also involve men in the projects as active agents of change in their communities: through education and information activities with boys and men, we try to prevent and combat the mechanisms that lead to acts of aggression, abuse, harassment, and physical and psychological violence.