Kaffrine: 35 journalists from the central zone trained to better deal with civil status and gender-based violence (GBV)

The Kaffrine region remains in the red zone in terms of birth registration, with only 42% of births registered. This situation linked to civil status, as well as the problem of gender-based violence (GBV), is at the heart of a capacity building session for 35 journalists from the central zone cell of the Convention of Young Reporters of Senegal (CJRS). The meeting, organized in partnership with ENABEL, is being held from August 11 to 13, 2026 in Kaffrine and brings together media professionals from Fatick, Kaolack, Diourbel and Kaffrine.

The objective of this session is to allow journalists to better understand the issues linked to civil status and GBV, but also to improve their media treatment of these issues. The director of the Communication Unit of the National Civil Status Agency (ANEC), Ibrahima Etia, insisted on the worrying situation of Kaffrine. According to him, the low birth registration rate places the region in a particularly worrying situation. He believes that the media have a major role to play in raising awareness among populations on the importance of birth registration and procedures related to civil status.

Presiding over the opening ceremony, the deputy prefect of the Kaffrine department, Boubacar Bâ, welcomed the CJRS initiative. He stressed the importance of birth registration, death registration and the availability of civil status documents. For him, journalists can contribute, through quality reporting, to inform citizens about procedures, to publicize the difficulties encountered and to bring populations closer to the competent services.

Concerning gender-based violence, the administration representative called on media professionals to demonstrate responsibility. The handling of these issues must, according to him, be based on rigor, verification of facts, respect for the dignity of victims, protection of their privacy and the fight against all forms of stigmatization.

For the secretary general of the central zone of the CJRS, Mor Kâ, the choice of these themes responds to the realities that journalists are regularly confronted with. He particularly mentioned situations involving women, children and vulnerable people. In the Kaffrine region, as elsewhere in Senegal, some marriages are still not declared and children grow up without a birth certificate. According to him, these situations are often explained by social and economic difficulties or by a lack of information.

Participants are therefore invited to use the knowledge acquired in order to produce more relevant content and contribute to better awareness of populations on issues related to civil status and gender-based violence.