WARIF, Slum2School train Makoko youths on curbing rape, violence

A non-governmental organisation, Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) in conjunction with Slum2School has trained 500 youths in Makoko, Lagos State on prevalence and effects of rape, sexual and gender-based violence.

The programme tagged Know Your Community and sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is designed to enlighten the youths and equip them with the right tools to fight these scourges.

The programme organised for boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 19 encouraged them to speak out against rape and sexual violence in their community.

Founder, WARIF, Dr. DaSilva-Ibru said: “At WARIF, we continue to emphasise the importance of tackling cases of rape and sexual abuse at the community -level, where access to knowledge on these issues and the services offered by foundations are not readily available. We hope to continue to collaborate with other organisations and to expand our outreaches to as many communities like Makoko as possible, across the country.

Head of Operations, Slum2school, Ruth Ebe said: “The children and youth understand that they have a right to say no to abusers, to be unafraid and to seek help from the right people in the case of any form of violations, and to remain advocates against rape and gender-based violence wherever they find themselves.”