The dialogue was significant in providing a platform for partners and stakeholders to assess the findings of the SWOP 2020 report in relation to the trends on harmful practices, which revealed that child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and son preference were regrettably still prevalent and commonly practiced in most societies including in the African continent. The meeting also sought to investigate the remaining gaps in addressing harmful practices and possible solutions to these challenges even in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The dialogue proposed a list of concrete actions and recommendations to be taken which included: strengthening inclusion and engagement of men and boys in addressing harmful practices, increasing advocacy efforts aimed at yielding strong political commitment, enforcement and formulation of laws that address harmful practices and the reinforcement of the implementation of a strong and robust multi-sectoral response to harmful practices from grassroots level to the continental level.
This report provides a summary of the presentations submitted during the webinar and evaluates discussions and key recommendations that were proposed during the panel discussions and in the chat boxes dedicated to specific questions around the topic from participants in attendance. The appendix will provide an overview of the social media platforms outreach during the event. Video can be viewed here.