FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, 20 March 2023- UNFPA and UNICEF are supporting the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs in Sierra Leone to establish a gender-based violence Information Management System (GBVIMS+), with the aim of generating data to inform prevention and advocacy to end gender based violence and other harmful practices.

In February 2023, the UN agencies jointly conducted a training on the system in Bo with participants from the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, the Ministry of Social Welfare and NGOs. The GBVIMS system has so far been implemented in countries facing emergency settings. The roll-out in Sierra Leone will represent the first time that the system is being implemented in a development setting as well as the first time that it is being led by government.

The system will be piloted in three districts:  Western Urban Area, Bo district and Kailahun district. GBVIMS+ helps to standardise and improve GBV responses and service provision to survivors of GBV as well as ensure that data is available in a safe, confidential and ethical manner.  Implementation of the system in Sierra Leone is expected to help strengthen GBV responses by key actors, including enabling comprehensive and coordinated services to survivors through a survivor-centred approach that focuses on their rights, safety and wellbeing.