‘Disgrace perpetrators of SGBV on national TV’

A group, YouthHubAfrica, has urged the Federal Government to consider the option of disgracing perpetrators of Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) on national television (TV) to serve as a deterrent to others.

Speaking at the end of the 2021 National Girls’ Summit in Abuja, which the group organised for 42 girls drawn from the country’s six geopolitical zones, the Executive Director of YouthHub Africa, Rotimi Olawale, said the group would intensify efforts at promoting an inclusive environment for the girl-child to thrive, develop and get quality education.

Also, a student of Heritage Global Academy, Ikorodu in Lagos, Sarat Mustapha, said the government must take proactive steps to protect girls against sexual harassment.

She said harmful practices and socio-cultural norms that affect the girl-child should be abolished.

She called for laws and policies, such as the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act and Child Rights Act, to be fully implemented and domesticated in all states of the federation.

Mustapha also stressed the need for an increased enrollment of girls in schools to reduce illiteracy and insisted that girls should have access to free, safe and quality basic education to realise their full potentials.

A panelist, Eze Chiamaka Martha, from Government Secondary School (GSS), Dutse in Abuja, lamented insecurity in the country.

She urged security agencies to address it to ensure girls could learn in a safe and peaceful environment.

Eze stressed the need for girls to be encouraged to aspire to take active roles in leadership and political positions.