Gender-based violence: Governors’ wives hold conference, commit to raising awareness

The Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum, on Monday, held its third edition of a conference which focuses on raising awareness on gender-based based violence in the country.

The theme of the conference is ‘Awareness, Accountability and Action: Sustaining the States of Emergency against Sexual and Gender-based Violence’.

Speaking at the event, Aisha Buhari, first lady, who was represented by Rukayyatu Gurin, senior special assistant to the president on administration and women affairs, said the governors’ wives should take advantage of the 16 days of activism to raise awareness on GBV.

16 days of activism is an annual international event to campaign against all forms of violence against women and girls across the world, starting from November 25 to December 10.

“The journey towards equality and the empowerment of women remains a significant one. Nigeria has already made great strides – most notably in the passage of legislations such as the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act which has now been domesticated in 34 states,” she said.

“Ending violence against women requires that key institutions work together, provide services, and ensure that the different bodies in society are held accountable, especially those that are responsible for law enforcement.

“Together, let us commit by making certain that every woman and girl counts, to ensuring that every girl in Nigeria can grow up in a world feeling secure and protected.”

On her part, Mariya Tambuwal, chairperson of the Nigeria governors’ wives forum, said the essence of the conference is to bring stakeholders together on a high-level advocacy platform as part of the activities for the 16 days of activism.

“Awareness raising is crucial to spreading the clear message of zero tolerance of all forms of violence against women and girls. It is also crucial to informing victims of their rights and the support services available to them,” she said.

“The first ladies’ approach to eliminate SGBV is holistic; it is also systematic, complementary, and comprehensive, and we aim to achieve this through multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional approach.”

On his part, Kole Shettima, director of the MacArthur Foundation’s Nigeria office in Abuja, said the COVID pandemic, through isolation, contributed to the rise in GBV, adding that more men should join in the fight to end the menace.

“We know that violence against women or violence in general is more perpetrated by men than by women. And it is the critical role that men play that we have to pay attention to,” he said.

“I hope that in uniting against violence against women, we can also look at the patriarchal ideologies, norms and values and the behaviour that bring up men who are so violent.

“We have to think on how do we deconstruct mental upbringing of men that make them prone to violence and to see that violence is the only way of expressing themselves or dehumanising other people, especially women.”