The Cross River State Government says it will no longer compromise on issues of Gender Based Violence in the state.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Rita Ayim, said this on Friday in Calabar at the end of a four-day training of relevant agencies and Civil Society Organisation on the management of GBV.
“Situations where parents and guardians come to appeal for cases of GBV to be dropped will not be tolerated as the law will take its course and we will ensure we follow through on that,” Ayim said.
The Commissioner, however, commended the United Nations Population Fund, saying that its activities in the state had made the ministry more functional.
She appealed to participants to make good use of the knowledge acquired from the training in enlightening members of the public in order to curb gender-based violence.
“As you go to your various areas, especially at the rural levels, ensure you use the skills acquired in this training in the campaign against GBV.”
The Head of Calabar Office of UNFPA, Dr. Omolase Omosehin, noted that globally, GBV is on the rise, and that one in every three women has been assaulted by a close partner in their life.
Omosehin also noted that Nigeria’s case became peculiar owing to crises within the country and neighbouring nations, which created large number of survivors who migrated into the country.
This he said requires the assistance of humanitarian workers who may not be skilled in gender-based violence.
Omosehin said: “So, we decided that it is worth the while for those who manage the refugees, especially in the area of GBV, to be well trained to carry out this responsibility.
“I expect that the participants who are from different agencies and non-governmental organisations will go back and put the things they have learnt in practice and also build the capacities of those who were not able to attend the training.”
One of the resource persons, Ndodeye Obongha, Head of Programmes, Girl’s Power Initiative, Calabar, noted that with COVID-19, issues of GBV had increased globally.
Obongha said this necessitated the need for service providers to have the capacity to provide services for survivors, adding that such services need to be collectively provided.
NAN.