From exploitation to empowerment: How the TTP Project prevented sexual abuse and exploitation in Guarimbene, Maputo province
Before the TTP project, cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by project workers operating in Guarimbene, a rural community located in Magude district, Maputo province, tended to be normalized and the flow of workers living in the communities and in camps increased. Unfortunately, the women got involved with the workers in exchange for money and there were reports of early unions, exploitation and sexual abuse, aggravated by the women’s economic vulnerability. Local women ended up pregnant in the belief that they were in a marital relationship, but when the workers’ contracts ended, they were left with a child and more expenses.
Faced with this situation, the TTP project had the mission of mitigating the negative impact generated by the project at community level. The project conducted an assessment and carried out community consultations, induction for workers from the subcontracting
companies, community dialogues which included community sensitizations, discussions with groups of women and adolescents, installed complaint and feedback mechanisms and introduced a code of conduct with zero tolerance for GBV and harassment adhered to by the companies and signed by the workers.
“In the past, several women have become pregnant by faceless men. We’ve had military personnel working in this area and now workers in various companies, and as always, we have women being exploited and disgraced”. Community leader, in a community dialogue.
During community activities (sensitization and awareness-raising) for GBV prevention, the STE team discussed the different forms of GBV, their manifestations, and the roles and responsibilities of each player in this process. As a result, community members, including community leaders, gained the skills to report and prevent cases of GBV. The number of cases of premature marriage has begun to fall and the discourse of accepting sexual abuse and harassment to earn money as the only quick source of income has changed. Women now know how to assess the risk and consequences of submitting to sexual exploitation and abuse.
