Group, traditional rulers, religious leaders partner to tackle gender-based violence

Traditional rulers and religious leaders in a campaign against sexual abuse and gender-based violence in Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State have called for more collaboration from all strata of the society to end all forms of violence against women and girls. They made this known at a seminar held in Jibowu, which was organized by the Spotlight Initiative in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN).

Programme Manager of the body, Vincent Daniel, said the event was held to establish a network of men against sexual abuse and gender-based violence in Yaba LCDA.
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“We are focusing on four communities, which include Yaba, Iwaya, Makoko, and Adekunle. Traditional and religious leaders from these communities have been drafted into the network with a view to serving as advocacy platforms in their various communities in preventing sexual and gender-based violence,” he said.

He hinged the underlying factor for choosing the above communities on the prevalence of these vices in those communities corroborated by police reports and social media accounts just as he said poverty and its rippling effect were factors contributing to the menace.

One of the traditional rulers in attendance, Baale of Makoko, Chief Raymond Akinsemoyin, said the initiative got it right by including traditional rulers who are key to reducing gender-based violence in their communities, adding that tackling of the problem would not leave out parents and their crucial role in watching over their wards.

Akinsemoyin indicted the government for not providing jobs for miscreants and jobless youths who are the major perpetrators of the crime as well as the passive manner in punishing apprehended offenders to serve as a deterrent to others.
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