Anthonia Duru
In order to eliminate all forms of Gender-Base Violence (GBV), activists said literacy is fundamental in building successful coalition as this is a major tool in achieving the cause.
This statement was made at a 2-day Capacity Building workshop on Co-ordination Mechanisms to end Violence Against Women /Girls (VAWG), an initiative sponsored by the United Nations Spotlight Initiative and implemented by Women Advocates and Research Documentation (WARDC), held in Lagos State.
Executive Director, International Press Centre (IPC), Lanre Arogundade, said involving stakeholders in different strata will help in curbing gender based violence.
His words, “We need mechanisms that will bring unusual faces into this advocacy such that we will get a listening ear in order to effect positive change.
“We also need to use approaches that can make stakeholders to change their attitude.
“Proper education and proper understanding of issues at stake using creative channels is also needed People need to be well informed, hence the need for us to communicate in a way that people understand,” Arogundade said.
Also speaking at the workshop which also address organised proper documentation of cases of violence against women and assessment of government reports on women empowerment programmes, Mojisola Akinsanya, Executive Director, Women for Peace and Gender Equality Initiative (WOPEGEE) observed that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 had not been realised because of lack of sufficient empowerment for women and girls.
“Gender equality cannot be achieved when women do not have the money to empower themselves and run for political offices. There have not been sufficient programmes and policies to empower women. There should be a special training for women on how to use technology to reduce the risks of falling victim to fraudsters.”
“One of the reasons the five targets of SDG 5 cannot be met is because the government is not supportive. They only focus on aspects that favour the men. As long as poverty exists, social ills will continue, we cannot remove poverty, we can only reduce it.
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“It is important to document reports and activities so that they can be reviewed at UN meetings.
“Then we can identify loopholes and advocate for women’s rights. Civil society groups are the mouth piece of the people and they should let the world know how true the government reports are-it is the duty of civil society groups to assess the reports of the government.
“Progress reports on how women’s rights should be documented in the country. As part of the process of advocacy, civil society groups act as a guide and watchdog on the government in fulfilling promises made to the people and sometimes work with them to ensure they do it,” Akinsanya explained.
According to Gbemisola Akosa, a facilitator at the workshop, “We need to let the world know where we are and where we need to be. Sometimes the government needs the help of civil societies to make a change on gender affairs.
“There is also need to engage women at the grassroots because some people do not have access to the internet to gain knowledge on the right thing to do when it comes to issues of gender based violence.”
