Peace & Security

What We Are Doing

Millennium Child Support partnered with STAR-Ghana to increase the understanding among young people in slum communities of the importance of peace, security, and stability. A local committee was set up to monitor flashpoints and report violence among people being influenced by politicians.

Reach and Impact:

Millennium Child Support Group reached more than 1.4 million citizens with peace messages through community radio and in places of worship. An active interfaith platform worked for peace to ensure a peaceful Election 2016 in the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Ghana.

Training for Security Forces:

Millennium Child Support Group aimed to reduce intimidation and brutality by security forces by providing training sessions and manuals for police, security agencies, and media.

Community Engagement:

Millennium Child Support organizes community durbars and meetings with community and opinion religious and traditional leaders aimed at:

• Increasing voting rights
• Boosting youth confidence in the registration and voting process
• Focus on Gender Issues:

Millennium Child Support emphasizes the need for strong, concerted leadership on gender issues; a systematic approach to women, peace, and security considerations; and concrete monitoring to improve accountability.

• Violence Against Women:

Millennium Child Support Group recognizes that violence against women in elections is a threat to the integrity of the electoral process. It can affect:

• Women's participation as voters, candidates, election officials, activists, and political party leaders,
• The overall integrity of the democratic process.

Through increased attention to women’s participation and voices in democracy assistance, narratives of violence against women in elections have become more visible.

Ending Violence Against Women

Violence against women and girls is a grave violation of human rights. Its impact is extensive, leading to immediate and long-term consequences:

• Consequences of Violence:

The negative impacts include:

• Physical, sexual, and mental harm
• Impaired general well-being for women
• Barriers to full participation in society

The effects of violence extend beyond women to their families, the community, and the country, imposing tremendous costs including healthcare and legal expenses and losses in productivity, ultimately affecting national budgets and overall development.

Advocacy and Legal Frameworks:

Decades of mobilizing by civil society and women’s movements have placed ending gender-based violence high on national and international agendas. An unprecedented number of countries have enacted laws against domestic violence and sexual assault. However, challenges remain in:

• Implementing these laws
• Limiting women's and girls’ access to safety and justice
• Insufficient prevention measures

We partner with governments, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, traditional leaders, and other institutions to:

• Advocate for ending violence
• Increase awareness of violence's causes and consequences
• Build partners' capacity to prevent and respond to violence

Additionally, we promote the need for changing norms and behaviors of men and boys and advocate for gender equality and women’s rights.

What We Want to Do

Millennium Child Support Group will support expanding access to quality multi-sectoral responses for survivors, including:

• Safety
• Shelter
• Health
• Justice
• Other essential services

Policy guidance will help increase investments in prevention—the most cost-effective, long-term means to stop violence.

We will continue to work with governments to develop dedicated national action plans to prevent and address violence against women, strengthening coordination among diverse actors for sustained and meaningful action.

Millennium Child Support Group will also advocate for the integration of violence in key international, regional, and national frameworks, including the post-2015 development agenda.