Rising cases of GBV worry Kogi govt, CSOs

Provide safe spaces for SGBV victims, groups tells FG
Kogi State Government and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working to end Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and other human rights abuses have expressed worry over rising cases GBV and other human violations abuse in the state.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Fatima Buba, while giving an update on government’s efforts in the fight against GBV, during a stakeholders’ engagement, to mark ‘Orange the World’ 16 days of activism against GBV campaign in Kogi, stressed the need for stakeholders to synergise against the scourge.

“There are some of the gaps we are expecting this engagement to close. Kogi government, in the bid to mitigate the increasing incidences of GBV in the state, inaugurated a 23-member Technical Working Group to tackle GBV in the state, with the cardinal objective of ensuring that gender equality is upheld in all spheres of human life.”

According to her, the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2018 found that nine per cent of women, aged 15 to 49, had suffered sexual assault at least once in their lifetime and 31 per cent had experienced physical violence.

Executive Director, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), Eunice Agbogun, noted that the costed multi-sectoral action plan is a multi-year roadmap to help the state achieve its goal of eliminating violence against persons.

Also speaking, Gender Mainstreaming Associate at CIHP, Kalu Uko, said GBV remains a societal nightmare that must be stopped; hence, all hands must be on deck to address the menace.

MEANWHILE, Safe Space Initiative has tasked the Federal Government to protect victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and provide more safe spaces for women.

The group urged the government to implement policies and laws enacted to protect victims of violence across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Executive Director at Safe Space Initiative, Osasu Edobor, stated this during the showcasing of Mirror Mirror, a play that focuses on GBV, on Wednesday, in Abuja.

The stage play commemorates the 16 days of activism in terms of elimination of violence against women and girls and addresses the economic issue of gender disparity in terms of wages.

She said: “Mirror Mirror is produced by the Safe Space Initiative as a means to enlighten and bring to the fore the issues around GBV. It also focuses on providing easy remedy by the introduction of the mobile app, Herfessions, to enable survivors find help anonymously.”

“Safe Space Initiative is a non-profit using media and technology to fight GBV, with support from the Dorothy Njemanze Foundation and Jewel Hive Initiative. Additionally, it receives support from African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) and The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL).”

The playwright, Omolola Lamikora, stated that the play is trying to make people see GBV from a personal point of view, to examine themselves and see how they enabled SGBV through their silence and protection of the perpetrators.

She said: “It is not just the person who does it, but the society that enables it. It is a ripple effect. We also try to also entertain and make everybody laugh while passing the needed message.”

According to one of the directors of the stage play, Dike Chukwumerije, the play centres around GBV, looking at the issues and social factors that drive people to support, abet and make apologies for people practicing gender base violence.

He said: “This play will interrogate the factors that make people defend such act, so that all of us can be better at preventing and discouraging it.”