NGO to Commence Grassroots Sensitisation on Domestic, Gender Violence in Kwara’s 16 LGAs
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NGO to Commence Grassroots Sensitisation on Domestic, Gender Violence in Kwara’s 16 LGAs
By Kaosara Olayemi Oladimeji
A Kwara-based non-governmental organization, Rising Child Foundation in collaboration with Global Youth Movement says it would commence advocacy and sensitisation programme on domestic and gender violence throughout the 16 Local Government Areas of the state.
To achieve this, it launched ‘Stamp Out GBV in Kwara’ to create awareness to a lot of women and men on the privileged information about their rights.
Speaking during the launching on Wednesday in Ilorin, Executive Director of Rising Child Foundation, Taibat Hussain, said gender violence can manifest in several forms but the most prevalent ones especially in Nigeria are domestic/physical violence, sexual harassment and sexual exploitation.
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According to Hussain, Gender Violence cases are becoming more rampant in many African societies including Nigeria, with little or no consequence for the perpetrators, saying almost every day, the stories of victims and survivors of Gender Violence are conveyed in the media.
She made references to the case of Barakat Bello, a 19-year-old girl who was gang-raped and murdered in Ibadan, and Uwa Omozuwa who was raped inside a church in Benin, Edo State.
“As part of the project, we shall organise a broad-based training for 25 selected young ladies that will be regarded as ‘GBV Champions’.
“They will be educated on GBV and its implications on society, trained on how to use social media – majorly Twitter – to advocate GBV-related issues, and what they can do to curb the spread of GBV in their respective communities,” she said.
Hussain added that the group will work in local communities across Kwara to create awareness on Gender Violence issues, track and report cases of violent abuse against women, and advocate for redress for victims and punishment for the offenders.
“We will embark on market drive, organise radio shows, reach out to the community and religious leaders and other relevant stakeholders to create awareness on GBV and seek their support and cooperation towards the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.”
She recommended that: “Security agencies should handle GBV cases professionally without shaming the victims.”
“Similarly, parents should desist from preventing their abused children from speaking up under the guise of shame.”
She however solicits the support of the State Government and other relevant bodies for collaboration with other civil society groups working on GBV issues in Kwara.
“Government and other relevant stakeholders must invest in building the capacity of GBV service providers to meet the increasing demand for support for victims of GBV,” she added.
