Efforts to combat GBV intensify in Taraba communities

Sexual and Gender-based Violence. Photo:timeshighereducation.com

The National Chairperson of the Women Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN), Elizabeth Akinadewo, has called on residents of Kurmi local government council of Taraba state, to support efforts to end Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the council.

The appeal which was made on the weekend by the National Chairperson of the association through the Taraba State Chapter Chairperson, Deaconess Mercy Sambo, came during a sensitization programme organized for traditional and religious leaders on the prevention of violence against women and girls, held in Baissa, the administrative headquarters of the council.

Highlighting the a statistics, she said that ranked Kurmi council ranked second in GBV incidents according to her, this prompted WOWICAN and the United Nations (UN) Women to organize “this crucial sensitization initiative.”

Underscoring the urgency of addressing the troubling trend, the statistics, as observed by her, are a stark contrast to the values of the state.

The council chairman, Moses Maihankali, reiterated his administration’s commitment to changing the narrative.

He said the council will work tirelessly round the clock to eradicate all forms of GBV from the nooks and crannies of the local government.

President of the National Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the state, said the members will leave no stone unturned in their quest to end GBV in Kurmi, and the state at large.

Fidelis, who doubles as the Executive Director of the Safe Environment and Community Health Initiative, also took his time to outline various forms of GBV being perpetrated in the council and the state as a whole.

Calling for collaborative efforts to end GBV in society, he expressed concern at the prevalent rate of the ills which he listed to include physical, emotional, cultural, digital, and economic violence, as well as neglect and sexual violence, in the council and the entire axis of the state.

Representatives of the District Head of Baissa, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Muslim Council of Nigeria (MCN), and youth groups, who expressed dismay at the rise in GBV in the area, expressed their readiness to tread extra legitimate miles to fight against GBV in the council.