Silent Treatment on Violence against Women in Guinea  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Boubacar Sanso Barry for Guinée Conakry Info wrote an in-depth report on the undercovered issue of violence against women in Guinea. Even though the National Agency on Gender reports that 80% of Guinean women were victims of psychological or physical abuse [fr], the topic seems to be too often ignored by national media. His report underlines one of the factor [fr] for the lack of coverage :
La question de la violence conjugale ne fait pas partie des politiques publiques. Je n’ai jamais entendu un homme ou une femme politique faire de cela un sujet de débat. Plusieurs informations non officielles font état de violences conjugales au sein des familles de ceux qui dirigent ou qui ont dirigé ce pays. En fait, dans le paquet des droits que les femmes de Guinée revendiquent, il n’y a pas la question des violences conjugales. On parle surtout de l’accès à des postes de responsabilité, de la représentativité au niveau des institutions..
The issue of domestic violence is yet to be fully integrated in the public policy discussion. I never heard of any politician make this a topic of debate. Several unofficial reports indicate that domestic violence exists within families of those who lead or have led this country. In fact, in the ensemble of women rights that Guinean women demand, there is no mention of the issue of domestic violence. The topics mentioned are mostly about rights such as access to positions of responsibility, representation in political institutions etc..