By Blessing Bature-Akpakpan
The Director-General, National Prohibition for human trafficking in persons, NAPTIP, Dr Fatima Waziri-Azi, has on Thursday commended Abiodun Essiet Initiative for Girls AEIG, for their tireless effort in pioneering Community dialogues and intervention programs geared towards the Protection and prevention of Sexual and Gender based violence in communities.
Waziri-Azi made the commendation in a town hall meeting tagged: addressing sexual and gender based violence through women and stakeholders in Kuje Area Council, Abuja
An official of NAPTIP, Akinlade Justina, who represented the DG of the agency said, "the Fight against SGBV requires a multi sectoral approach and this we can achieve through regular Dialogues and Town Hall meetings like this, increased Sensitization and awareness especially in Schools, places of worship, and Communities.
"The Agency hopes that this town hall meeting will avail us all the opportunity to close the identified gaps and further strengthen our collaborations and commitments in the fight against Sexual and Gender Based violence. Within this past weeks, the Association of Wives of FCT Traditional Rulers were on a courtesy visit to the Director-General, this association has actively played their own role in ensuring adequate justice for victims and campaign against sexual and gender based violence in the FCT.
The NAPTIP DG said, this further underscores the need for collaboration and partnership especially at the Area Council level, saying Gender based Violence is a crime against humanity. NAPTIP as a Government Agency and with the mandate to Protect and assist victims of violence as well as investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of this heinous crime would leave no stone unturned to ensure that this crime is brought to its barest minimum.
Abioudun Essiet, Executive Director, AEIG said the engagement was in line with the two year Macarthur Foundation's empowerment Project for the FCT which aimed at strengthening FCT traditional institution, so as to effectively combat Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Territory.
Essiet said the town hall meeting was aimed at educating rural communities on gender based violence and the need to speak out when faced with such issues, saying that the meeting which focuses on community scorecard on community response to sexual and gender based, revealed areas where the community needs improvement and help.
According to her, we sensitise and create awareness about the various forms of SGBV in communities, we have embarked on several town hall meetings. And this is our seventh town hall meetings held across the six area councils of the FCT, adding that this is so, so that we can break the culture of silence around the menace.
"There is no community that doesn't any SGBV, that is why we are raising awareness about the issues especially those that are within the scope of Violence Against Persons (VAP) Act. We are already working with different traditional rulers and communities to create an action plan, to effectively address SGBV within their domains. So we have done that, and we will be sharing the report soon".
District head, Alh. Shuaibu Fada, who represented the Gomo of Kuje, the highest paramount chief in Kuje Area Council, said in Kuje, we have been having cases like SGBV, and they are being handled within our capacity, apart from this, we also carry out sensitisation campaign so that people will be aware on the implication of SGBV.
He appreciated God that people are responding well to the issue of domestic and sexual and gender based violence.
Beatrice Ishaya, Girls Pride Foundation, advised religious and community leaders to join hands together to see how they could help end SGBV, adding that with their help, it could really go a long way to empower the women to do their parts in tackling the scourge, as women can't do much without them.
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