__construct() instead. in /home1/tommytom/kassdigitalmedia.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6085When the #MeToo movement took off in 2017, Selam Mussie became involved in the global effort to make a difference for survivors of sexual abuse.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mussie listened to the dozens of women around the world who used social media to tell their stories of survival. She also amplified the voice of her own friends, who came forward with their own testimonies at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI shared a story of two friends who shared their story of sexual abuse when they were children,\u201d the Ethiopian advocate said. \u201cI shared the story on Facebook to shed light into the problem that nobody talks about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story of Mussie\u2019s friends inspired more women to come forward and share their own struggles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat post went viral,\u201d Mussie said. \u201cI ended up receiving a lot of messages from different women, some I don’t even know, telling me they too have gone through such experience, but never told a soul. Most of them felt seen and understood.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Three years later, Mussie has launched a platform which aims to break the cycle of sexual abuse, particularly in Ethiopia. The project, known as Kelela for Children<\/a>, provides various types of resources through its social media channel and website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKelela for Children’s goal is to teach parents, teachers, caretakers and everyone genuinely concerned about children about methods of prevention and intervention,\u201d Mussie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prevention specifically depends on communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt includes breaking the barriers that block the communication between children and parents while living in a society that doesn’t discuss sexual topics and considers it a taboo,\u201d the Kelela founder said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese include teaching children about privacy, consent, appropriate behavior, private body parts<\/em>, etc.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to intervention, Kelela highlights two components. The first part is focused on learning to read the signs of a child who is being sexually abused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are both behavioral and physical signs that can be noticed or seen which most parents (in our context) don’t know or are often drowned out because of cultural contexts,\u201d Mussie said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The advocate points to the example of African children who are scolded for refusing to sleep in the same bed as relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis could have been a visible behavioral sign that the child was telling us she\/he is not comfortable, but because they are either scared or don’t have the language to articulate their needs, the needs go unheard,\u201d Mussie said. \u201cBut if a parent is informed about this, they can easily investigate the issue and find out if there is something going on or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other part of intervention is \u201clearning about what to do if our child is being sexually abused.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo what are the immediate things we can do as a parent or caretaker?\u201d Mussie said. \u201cWhat are the legal and medial steps we can take, etc?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Mussie came up with the idea for Kelela, she wanted to \u201clet the concept brew inside her head first before launching.\u201d By November 2018, she was ready to start the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I wanted it to be owned by all the women who inspired the whole idea,\u201d Mussie said. \u201cTheir stories are sad but their resilience and courage to tell their stories – whether in public or privately is something remarkable and commendable. This includes women who never told anyone, but have been down that same road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what does it mean to let the women own the project?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean being involved one way or another,\u201d Mussie said. \u201cI wanted it to be owned by people who truly care about this and want to make a change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The advocate shared the vision with a few people around her who became interested in helping develop the project, setting up a team composed of a psychiatrist, psychologist and a lawyer. Mussie then partnered with a communications agency to design her materials and website. The next step was to find volunteers who translated the information to six different local languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelela for Children now stands under the umbrella of Kelela, which aims to tackle other issues outside of sexual abuse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen it comes to Kelela the platform, the bigger picture is to keep identifying other problems especially focused on gender based violence and women’s right topics,\u201d Mussie said. \u201cIf things go as planned, our reach will be continental. We will use Kelela as an umbrella platform for many others who would like to do similar works in the topics I mentioned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelela for Children has provided a 28-page guidebook<\/a> on its website, detailing prevention and intervention methods for sexual abuse. Mussie and her team also plan to hold more campaigns and awareness creation activities about the different topics they aim to cover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, the project brings forth stories of survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe wanted to have real life stories of adults who survived sexual abuse as children,\u201dMussie said. \u201cStories have power and they are much better than stats in the way they speak to people’s hearts, so we chose these stories to accompany our guidebook. so readers will understand the magnitude of the problem in addition to understanding the consequences these incidents have in adult life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having graduated with a master\u2019s degree in Gender and Media studies, Mussie has served in various journalism positions and learned how she can use media to make a difference. Her vast resume includes experience as a media and communications consultant <\/a>specializing in social change as well as focus on social behavioral change communication strategies, gender sensitive media guidelines and conflict sensitive journalism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mussie said her education contributed to how she \u201cunderstands media and the ways in which it functions in society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Equipped with that knowledge, the media professional is moving forward with what she calls \u201ca passion project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis was our process to arrive here today. It took us a total of 2+ years to be here,\u201d Mussie said. \u201cKelela for Children is a passion project that brought incredible professionals and social change makers together who were willing to exchange their skills and time to something they felt strongly about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sexual abuse has been an increasingly concerning topic in Ethiopia during the pandemic as children spend more time at home. In an effort to bring attention to the issue, organizers of the #metooethiopia movement started a petition<\/a> and highlighted the reasons for their concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the letter addressing Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the advocates described themselves as a group of \u201cmen and women who have been directly or indirectly affected by the physical, psychological and social trauma of sexual violence in the Ethiopian community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are the brave sisters and brothers who have shared our stories and those who have read their heartbreaking experiences and therefore stand in solidarity with them,\u201d the group stated. \u201cThere is a lack of awareness and open conversations in our schools, work places, media outlets and community as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n