Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) registers as one of the commonest human rights violations around the world, regardless of social, economic or national boundaries.
In this piece, Olawale Lamina, The Explainer Features Editor followed in the trail of the concerted efforts being made through collaborations between the Resource Center for Human Rights and Civic Education, (CHRICED) and the Association of Wives of the FCT Traditional Rulers, (AWTR) with support from Mac Arthur Foundation, to create awareness among youngsters at the Junior Secondary School (JSS), Apo in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Abuja.
When stakeholders gathered to create awareness about the knotty issue of Sexual and Gender-Based violence, the ambience, which happened to be the JSS Apo event hall, took on an expected calm and that of rapt attention on the part of the students, (boys and girls in their teenage years), simply because an important information that could save them and others, both in the present and in the future was about to be shared among them.
The Executive Director, Association of Wives of the FCT Traditional Rulers (AWTR) and wife the Chief of Garki Ambassador Hannatu Usman, who was represented by the Association’s Programme Officer Mr. Emmanuel Bassey noted that gender-based violence has become rampant among male adults and their female counterparts. She said youngsters who work as housemaids have increasingly come under duress due to the unacceptable activities of sexual predators.
According to her, the issue had assumed a serious dimension that required more awareness either at schools, homes, communities, motor parks and market place where one form of gender-based violence or the other take place often. She explained that, at community level within the FCT mechanisms are in place to ensure that issues relating to sexual and gender violence were resolved through the community heads, while appealing to victims to speak out, because most of the violations that were sexual and gender-based were not reported.
She challenged the students to report to the appropriate authorities whenever they were confronted with the issue of sexual and gender based violence at school.
Ambassador Hannatu empasised the need for help desks at schools where children can channel their complaints with the aim of getting necessary attention.
Similarly, another Non-Governmental Organisation Open Arms Women and Child Outreach International weighed in on the issue. Speaking on behalf of her group, the Executive Director, Mrs. Princess Ogaga Onavakpuri, centered her talk on school related sexual and gender-based violence. She conscientised the children on the need to be on their guard while they face the reality of violence in their school environment, which may include sexual harassment, bullying and associated violation of their rights.
She noted that both the male and female children have been known to be vulnerable to violence at home or at school, hence the need to stem the evil tide. She stressed the need for increased awareness in the society that could help the children especially and others who might be victim of gender-based violence.
And, speaking about the reality of gender-based violence at schools, the Vice Principal Academics of the JSS Apo, argued that it has become absolutely necessary to create awareness among children, who were daily assaulted, either sexually or harassed in many other ways.
“We have seen a case in this school where a father took her daughter to an isolated area on the mountain and had sex with her. Sometimes the perpetrators bullied their victims, sometimes they threaten to kill them, but we have to encourage the children to speak out, and make them know they will not be killed. They (perpetrators) can only threaten them. We need awareness like this to continue in schools in the FCT to help our students, she said.
The VP academics also commended the concerted efforts by groups who came together to organise event for the benefit of the children who often were at the receiving end of this peculiar violence.
Some of the children expressed their appreciation to the organisers for enlightening them to know what to do when confronted with gender-based violence.
The Senior Prefect of the school (Head Boy) and her female counterpart (Head Girl) who shared their impressions about the programme stated that it was a worthwhile campaign, because sometimes, youngsters succumb to pressure when they lack knowledge of what to do. “Now, we have been told what to do when somebody is trying to be violent to you through either sexual molestation or bullying, you know what to do.
We know the first step is to report by telling a close friend or person you have confidence in. At school, you can also report in the hope that something will be done immediately,” said the male senior prefect.
His thoughts were corroborated by his counterpart who expressed excitement over the programme. She remarked that, through the programme by the NGOs, she had been better equipped to be on her guard and help others who might be a victim of gender-based violence in her school and environment. The NGOs were unanimous in their determination to continue to collaborate with more groups with similar ideals to keep gender-based violence in check. They reasoned that, one of the ways to achieve result is to create the right channel, like creating help desks in schools by training the guidance and counsellors for the purpose.
They believe that with the right caliber of persons involved who would show no bias; the war against the menace would have been won.
The civic groups, which organised the sensitisation also used the occasion to list their challenges which include the fact that approval from the FCT authorities for such programmes to be held in schools takes a long process which slows down their planned campaigns. G
iven the need to check to menace of sexual and gender based violence, the civic groups appealed to relevant authorities to expedite action to ensure a far reaching campaign in future. They similarly warned about the consequences of sexual gender-based violence, noting that if the trend was not checked with appropriate action, it could lead to a surge in the incidence of out of school children based on available evidence in the past.
Association of Wives of the FCT Traditional Rulers (AWTR), in particular, said that the group sometimes get challenged when they take awareness to the market and parks where there is little attention given by the traders who often have to look after their businesses despite the importance of the issue at stake. But, the body emphasised that despite the odds, the media had been effective in reaching out to the people, especially in communities.
