Acts of violence perpetrated against women and girls in the upper Highlands Region is getting out of hand and the respective mandated leaders need to physically intervene and make amends with their own people, to put an end to this. These are the words of appeal from the Director of the Highlands Human Rights Defender Group Mary Kini, in light of the recent acts of violence against women and girls that have been headlining the news lately. “We need the mandated leaders to come down to the grassroots level and talk to their own people.” She said such a dialogue is important to identify the root cause of what instigates these cruel acts of violence that are perpetrated against mainly females in a community. “If we can identify the root cause, then all concerned parties can then start to work together to come up with solutions to address GBV (Gender Based Violence) and SARV (Sorcery Accusation Related Violence) in the communities in hotspot areas.” Kini said there is just so much violence and as citizens, it is the responsibility for everyone to work together and with our leaders, to address this issue. Mary said the Highlands Human Rights Defenders, as an advocacy group are often front liners in addressing GBV and SARV related violence in the community, often, putting their own lives and safety on the line. “We cannot address this issue alone, we need cooperation and a more coordinated effort from all other concerned government and non-government organizations in addressing GBV and SARV in the communities and the country.” Despite there been a lack of cooperation and coordination between relevant bodies, the HRD Group has a very effective network and continues to carry out effective work in the Highlands Region. “We usually receive funding for our work from OXFAM and very recently from the National Government.” Kini said that the work they do is very risky and appealed to the relevant government bodies to work together, to ensure they can be able to continue to carry out their work with adequate resources that is reinforced with assistance from the relevant government agencies.