Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have said that traditional rulers, market leaders, religious leaders and security agencies must make a collective effort for the girl-child to live a wholesome life in society.

They made this assertion at a one-day CSOs Roundtable Discussion of National Level Actors in Lagos organised by the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) in partnership with Women for Women International and Ford Foundation with focus on learnings from Community Level Interventions on Advocacy and Gender Based Violence (GBV) Prevention.
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According to the Executive Director, WARDC, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, there was a need to identify major gatekeepers, which include traditional structures such as community leaders, traditional rulers, among others, and encourage them to rise up against GBV.

“We believe they have a role to play in addressing GBV. We’ve dialogued with them to the level of inspiring them to become champions of their communities and ensure that they sanction offenders where someone commits any form of sexual and gender based violence. This will serve as a deterrent to others,” she said.

She noted that other gatekeepers include security agencies. “There are general complaints from our research that there is laxity on the part of the Police in the process of enforcement of laws and prosecution of offenders, hence they need to do more,” she added.

Akiode-Afolabi also tasked the government to provide intervention programmes for victims of domestic violence as well as separate courts that will respond to sexual and gender-based violence to ensure speedy dispensation of justice.

For the Country Director, Women for Women International, Nigeria, Bola Onyishi, the girl-child must be empowered in every area to enable her stand for her rights. This, she said, requires a lot of sensitisation, which the organisation is actively involved in.

Onyishi, however, lamented that stigmatisation of victims of GBV was a serious challenge.

“Society should stop stigmatising victims of gender-based violence. It’s a serious pandemic, which has to stop. Creating a safe society for the girl-child is our collective responsibility,” she said.
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