In commemoration of elimination of gender based violence Day and celebration of annual program tagged “16th Days of Activism of Gender Based Violence”, the Excellent Community Education Welfare scheme (ECEW), a non-governmental organisation has called on Law enforcement agency in Osun to put in synergised efforts towards ensuring gender based violence in the country.
The organisation implored the government that there should be implementation of law for perpetrators of gender based violence.
This was disclosed in an awareness session on Thursday at Ilesha Business School, Ilesha Osun state.
The “16 days of activism” is an annual campaign for people to come together and find ways to fight against gender based violence. This campaign is commemorated in over 187 countries with over 6,000 organisations working together in their different ways to raise awareness on gender based violence and to come up with strategies that can eliminate gender based violence.
It’s an international awareness that starts November 25th to December 10th every year, different organisations with different activities within the period to raise awareness about elimination of gender based violence.
Speaking on the theme for the awareness, “Unite to end all sorts of gender based violence”, the organisation Senior Associate, Salam Ibrahim explained that gender based violence is not limited to female but also to male and as such, any victim should speak out unashamedly, adding that the government should take action to curb the menace.
She said, ” Today, we gather to raise awareness against women based violence, we brought youth leaders from different part of Ilesha, we also brought people that works in area of gender based violence, as group and as a team. From the government what we are hoping to see is a more synergised efforts towards ending gender based violence in Osun. We are calling the Nigeria police, legal aid counsel, civil defense so people with gender based violence will get justice”
She therefore urged any victim of rape to report so that Post Exposure Prophylaxis, a drug to prevent Human Immune Virus, HIV can be used in case the perpetrator is an HIV patient.
Also, in her own remark, Olufunmi Olajide , the Executive Director of Better Life Africa Development, noted that they are urging the public members to fight against gender based violence in Ijesha Land.
“So many people are experiencing violence that they cannot even share with people, the people we invited are people that can go back to their community
“The parents should train their children well, so they need to have the training. That’s why we are reaching out to those that are
in the grassroot, those in the rural areas, because they are the one mostly affected”.
“As women are suffering from violence, men are also suffering from violence, it is not one-sided thing, most of the time women don’t talk and government should ensure there’s implementation of law’
Among the youth leaders in the event, Omobola Akinjoyegbe from Ijesha Youth Forum, Women Affairs Director and Social Development and Oluwatoyin Adebayo, jointly noted that the people should speak against gender based violence, appreciating the organisers for the mindshifting program.
Some of the participants in the event that came from different schools lauded the organisers for the event, and promised to fight against violence in their community.
A 13-year-old student from St. Micheal Girl’s School Ilesha, Oluwole Heritage Jesudarasimi, noted that the training has encouraged her to confront and fight against any gender based violence she encounters.
She said, ” I come from an average home that where my dad is angry, he will beat my mum and I pity her. When my mummy start crying like this, I will join her. Since the beginning of this year, I have decided to talk for my mum and talk sense to my father’s head, It’s a form of violence and I have learnt that I will stand up for her next time. This training is educating, I learnt that there’s nothing like feminism and they should be treated equally like how God”
Also, a student of Ilesha grammar school, Farinto Stephen, said “This is the kind of training the society needs the more, if this training keep occuring it can reduce the rate at which people are being abused in this country.”
Fagbohungbe blessing said, ” I learnt that when women are violated, they should speak out and not have inferiority complex. We can organize a club and enlighten them on the dangers of violation against women and girl and emotional defect it can cause to them, St Margaret.”
