Emma Elekwa
A community sensitization programme on Gender-Based Violence prevention and response has taken its grassroots campaign to communities in Nnewi North and South Local Government Areas of Anambra State.
The programme organized by Anambra State Multi-Stakeholders Action Committee on the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence, (MAP-GBV), Anambra State Chapter, was in collaboration with Actionaid Nigeria.
Themed, ‘Uniting Community Stakeholders for Grassroots Action against Gender-Based Violence in Nnewi North and South’, the event held at Igwe Orizu Palace, Nnewi, featured talks and expositions on GBV and how communities can unite to fight the anomaly.
Speaking during the event, Chairman of the Committee, and traditional ruler of Olumbanaasaa in Anambra West council Area, Igwe Pius Omachonu called on community leaders and other critical stakeholders to deepen the message for concerted efforts towards mitigating the rising GBV cases in the state.
He said gender issues arise because partners still want to stay fixated on traditional and cultural stereotypes that existed hitherto, even though the society had evolved.
He observed that due to socialization and contemporary dynamics, it has become important for the society to evolve to protect the rights and privileges of both coming into relationships.
Supporting each other
“Roles have changed and partners must learn to support each other in family roles.
“These are the things that cause problems, and partners cannot afford to remain insensitive to each other’s plights.
“When the partner responds in an inappropriate manner, it may lead to problems and violence,” he said.
The monarch explained that the event is to inform the people that times have changed and the society must jettison habits that do not promote peaceful existence.
He stressed the need for a change of the attitudes that drive GBV, especially the fixated views on roles in the family, adding that flexibility is what it takes for partners to have successful relationships.
In an overview of GBV in Anambra, a member of the MAP-GBV, representing the NASFAT muslim community, Hajia Musbaudeen Medinat explained that Gender-Based Violence are harmful acts perpetrated against an individual by someone more powerful or better-placed than they.
She identified some forms of GBV to include physical violence, emotional violence, psychological violence, financial violence, childhood/ forced marriage, negative widowhood practices, inheritance denial, sexual harassment, among others.
Hajia Medinat urged the stakeholders not to hesitate to speak up against GBV, warning that attempts to conceal and protect such actions emboldens people who perpetrate them.
Reporting platforms
She further revealed that there are several platforms for the reportage of GBV, including Ministry of Women Affairs, FIDA, and the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC.
In her remarks, Mrs Favour Abarah, highlighted some triggers of GBV to include poor communication, jealousy and suspicion, drug addiction, poverty, financial stress and lack of education.
Director, Population Program and former Gender Coordinator, State Ministry of Health, Mrs Ngozi Ekeh urged stakeholders to place emphasis on prevention, rather than reaction, when the cases had occurred.
On his part, State Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, JONAPWD, Comrade Ugochukwu Okeke regretted that PWDs are the most affected in the matter of GBV.
He noted that findings have shown that the blind and the deaf are being violated and abused sexually in the state.
“Most times, these PWDs are violated because they cannot reveal the identities of their violators.
“Again, when they want to even report their ordeal, they cannot because of accessibility issues and lack of interpreters to narrate their cases.
“So, it is important that the society adopts proactive strategies to prevent such abuses against PWDs,” he said.
Underscoring the need for communities to amplify PWDs’ voices when they are facing such attempts and when violated, Okeke observed that silence remained the reason PWDs were raped and sexually abused without their stories being heard.
