Gender-Based Violence: “I Don’t Think We’re Where We Used To Be”, Says Fashola
- The war against gender-based violence has intensified with a new strategy introduced by Christian Aid (UK) in Nigeria and other partners
- They said an improvement has been recorded over time due to some intense interventions that have been carried out to curb gender-based violence
- Meanwhile, stakeholders have been charged to know these issues before approaching them with workable strategies
Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro
FCT, Abuja - The Christian Aid (UK) in Nigeria has emphasised the importance of tackling violence against women comprehensively by integrating it into broader policies and programs, such as social protection systems.
The goal is to enhance women's economic security and autonomy, ultimately reducing the likelihood of violence.
Source: Original
At a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, November 6, Christian Aid (UK) in Nigeria launched a call to action as part of the 2023 16 days of activism on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which triggered
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Speaking exclusively to Legit.ng, the Country Director, Tope Fashola, said there have been improvements in the various interventions undertaken to curb gender-based violence, especially violence against women.
He said:
"I know it did increase in the COVID period. And there are always different reasons why gender-based violence increases.
"But the point is that, you know, I'm an optimist. I don't think we are where we used to be. But I think there is more to be done to get where we need to go."
He, however, stated that there is a need for stakeholders to have an understanding of the knowledge gap to intervene adequately in cases of violence against women.
Fashola said:
"Without understanding what the knowledge gap is, you can't intervene adequately. So, part of the things we're doing today, in this training is to help partners to build better understanding and capacity around what it means to do a gender-consummative environment.
"When the knowledge is built, they can easily develop interventions or design interventions that will help transform the issues of gender-based violence in their respective locations."
CSOs call for interventions
Similarly, Ene Juliet, an assistant program officer at the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), said there has been a reduction in gender-based violence due to several interventions carried out by civil societies.
While speaking to Legit.ng, she said:
"If you've noticed, there are fewer records for violence these days, especially for women because women are getting to understand that they have rights to speak out and they also have rights to pursue and tell the citizens and also the society that likes to share their experiences."
Act Alliance Nigeria Forum coordinator Esther Oyerinde expressed her optimism over the various interventions and campaigns against gender-based violence.
She stated that more needs to be done to breed a society that normalises love and respect for humanity.
Oyerinde said:
"There's a need to invest more to prevent gender-based violence. We are not just looking at preventing it alone. We need to know how to avoid it.
"Ensuring that we give these women and girls, even boys that have been marginalised also in the form of having psychosocial support to them. Giving them trauma healing for those who are going through survivors of gender-based violence. Giving them trauma healing to pass through this phase."
CSOs threading down Nigerian laws to communities to end gender-based violence
Meanwhile, there is a growing call for an end to gender-based violence in communities across the federation.
Civil society groups like CAFOD and CWSI have taken the mantle of responsibility to combat such societal ill as gender-based violence.
In combating this problem, both civil society groups have resorted to sensitising women and men in remote suburbs.
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Source: Legit.ng
