ESLF SENSITISES STUDENTS, TEACHERS ON SGBV PREVENTION & HELPLINES TO REPORT INCIDENCES.

Eunice Spring of Life Foundation (ESLF) has sensitised students and teachers of NKST Secondary School, High Level Makurdi, Benue State on effective strategies to prevent the menace of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the society and doled out reliable referral pathways which survivors and victims could use to seek redress and relief from the SGBV scourge.

Making her presentation, Coordinating Programme Officer, Gender and Health for ESLF, Erdoo Yankyaa disclosed that the Foundation had embarked on the sensitisation as part of the ongoing global 16-Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence against Women and Girls and noted the different dimensions of SGBV in homes and schools.

She pointed out that SGBV included Physical Violence (like slapping, kicking), Sexual Violence (like inappropriate touches, forced penetration of a person without consent), Psychological and Emotional Violence (such as deliberately making someone sad, body shaming, bullying, insults) and Economic Violence (which includes seeking sexual favours in exchange for money, material things or resources).

Other SGBV forms she noted included Cultural Violence (such as forced marriage), Digital Violence (such as revenge pun or sharing another person’s nude pictures or videos, insultive and aggressive communication online) and Human Trafficking (like forcing a child to hawk, abusing or maltreating children).

Yankyaa who simulated some cases of physical violence to illustrate her point, outlined some dire consequences of SGBV to include physical injuries, Sexually Transmitted Infections (like HIV, HPV), unplanned pregnancy and anxiety which might result in extreme reactions like suicide, broken trust, interrupted education as well as financial consequences and legal consequences among others.

The Health Officer who noted that both male and female, children and adults were vulnerable to the menace of SGBV, called on everyone to UNITE and speak up for others against SGBV in the spirit of the theme of this year’s 16-Days of Activism urging people to break the silence and seek legal redress to remedy incidences of abuses against them.

Also speaking the Chief Investigation Officer, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Benue State, Dr. Joseph Kwanshe, called for prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of SGBV and stressed that persons below the age of 18 were incapable of giving consent and sex with persons amounts to rape in the eyes of the law.

The Director, Centre for Gender Studies of the Benue State University (BSU) Prof. Member George-Genyi and Administrative Officer of the Foundation for Justice Development and Peace (FJDP), Mrs. Blessing Azaagee maintained that while men and boys also suffer GBV, women and girls tend to be more vulnerable the reason CSOs, research-based organisation and religious bodies were stepping up collective sensitisation to the public.

Some of the students including Chula Perpetual and Terwase Andrew both of SS II as well as Juliana Aondowase and David Mbakemen of JS II who asked probing questions, sought to know if rape could result in pregnancy and what survival strategy that could be used in the event a person finds himself or herself in the stranglehold of paedophiles and other perpetrators of SGBV.

Earlier in his welcome address to the team, the School Principal Mr. Terngu Tyoor, acknowledged the various interventions by ESLF which the school had benefitted from and commended the activities of the school’s GBV Club which he testified was the brainchild of ESLF.

In her remarks, Programme Coordinator of Eunice Spring of Life Foundation (ESLF), Dr. Comfort Abaa expressed the Foundation’s commitment to sustain the advocacy against SGBV within the period of 16-Days of Activism and even beyond in order to curb the menace.

16-Days of Activism is a period set aside annually to raise awareness and direct spotlight on issues of SGBV bedeviling the society. The theme this year is UNITE! Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls.