‘Our fight to stop violence against women, girls yielding positive results’

The Ebonyi State Government, yesterday, declared that the Governor David Umahi-led government has made significant impact in addressing the negative consequences of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the state.

Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Deborah Chinwe Okah, stated this in Abakaliki during the opening of a five-day co-creation workshop on Gender-Based Violence GBV organised by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL).

Okah noted that the rising trend and negative consequences of GBV in the state had been addressed, noting that Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law (VAPP), which was domesticated through the efforts of the wife of the governor, Mrs. Rachel Umahi, was signed into law in 2018 to prosecute GBV offenders.

She further stated that the workshop was timely due to the fact that the outcome would be used to design a Gender-Based Intervention Working Tool, to close identified gaps that would create fertile grounds for GBV, as an infringement on the fundamental rights of women and children.

The commissioner, therefore, enjoined the participants to actively participate in the programme, so as to generate positive results that would be beneficial to the society, especially women and girls.

Earlier, Team Lead of MCGL projects in the state, Nneka Chijioke-Dikeoha, commended Okah for her presence in the programme and equally informed the participants that the MCGL had successfully completed its formative assessment activities in the state.

She explained that the formative assessment was focused on exploring and identifying social norms and drive of GBV and also for mapping of services available to survivors of GBV in the state.

Chijioke-Dikeoha also said relevant stakeholders were gathered together for the workshop to collectively design tailored approaches that would address identified gaps across the GBV prevention and response continuum of care.

She also noted that they would identify and prioritise interventions that the project would implement in its second year and beyond.

Traditional rulers, security personnel, representatives from health, information and other sectors, were among those who participated in the workshop.