EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
Palpable relief might have come for victims of gender based violence as FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has taken the lead in the campaign for the elimination of violence against women, girls, men and boys in the territory, as the world commemorates the 16 Days of activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Aliyu who identified Gender Based Violence (GBV) as a global challenge that have no socio-cultural boundaries, also noted that it is a social vices that cut across all races irrespective of status or age and it is on the increase on daily a basis.
The minister said, “Gender Based Violence has become a global concern and a lot of intervention programmes have been rolled out at international and local levels to address the menace.
“Sexual and GBV is largely rooted in individual attitude that condone violence within the family, the community and the state and it has been the cause of forced displacement and a terrible consequence of the breakdown of family and community structure”.
Aliyu also identified Gender Based Violence as a violation of human right and it denies the human dignity of the individual which halt human development, adding that it is one of the most prevalent human rights violation in the world and it has no socio-economic or national boundaries.
She lamented that despite the fact that Gender Based Violence undermines the health, dignity, security and autonomy of it’s victims, yet, it remains shrouded in a culture of silence and victims of such violence can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences.
The minister revealed that FCT has established a standard and well equipped GBV Response Centre under Gender Department under the Social Development Secretariat (SDS), to handle all GBV cases in the FCT.
She further revealed that FCT is collaborating with EU/UN Spotlight Initiatives to establish Centres/Shelters to empower victims of GBV in FCT, stressing that Offenders Register has just been commissioned in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Women and Social Development, to register all GBV cases and the offenders.
The minister therefore called on victims of Gender Based Violence to report all such cases promptly to the center for immediate necessary actions, just as she tasked all residents to be the ambassador to create this awareness across the nooks and crannie of FCT.
In her remarks, the Senior Gender Equality and Inclusion Manager of Plan International Nigeria, Obianuju Osade, said the aim of the campaign is to achieve zero tolerance of Gender Based Violence not only in the nation’s capital but the country at large.