Group moves to curb gender-based violence

By Innocent Anaba

A rights group, WomenAid Collective, WACOL, has launched a two-year task aimed astatine empowering Christian women and taste leaders to forestall and respond to gender-based violence, GBV, crossed Nigeria. The inaugural volition beryllium implemented successful concern with 9 grassroots organisations cautiously selected from the six geo-political zones.

Founding Executive Director of WACOL and Tamar Sexual Assault Referral Centre, SARC, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, who addressed newsmen successful Lagos, said the programme would mobilise women astatine the assemblage level to situation harmful taste and spiritual practices that perpetuate unit against women and girls.

“Transforming societal and taste norms to forestall gender-based unit successful Nigeria is imaginable if we physique the capableness of grassroots women leaders, mobilise Christian women’s groups, and beforehand attitudinal alteration wrong communities,” she said.

The project, funded by the Ford Foundation West Africa Office, comes against the backdrop of alarming cases of maltreatment successful churches and communities. WACOL/Tamar SARC presently handles hundreds of cases, including 1 wherever 2 sisters, aged 15 and 17, were raped during a alleged deliverance session.

Ezeilo recalled high-profile tragedies, including the decease of gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu, successful 2022, owed to home violence, and the rape and execution of Vera Omozuwa and Barakat Bello successful 2020.

“These incidents are a reminder that gender-based unit knows nary boundaries. Churches, which should beryllium harmless spaces, person successful immoderate cases go sites of abuse. This task seeks to alteration that world by empowering women leaders with tools to thrust affirmative taste and spiritual transformation,” she stressed.

Under the initiative, WACOL volition bid 1,000 women spiritual leaders and 500 taste leaders, including titled women specified arsenic the Umu Ada successful Igboland, portion an interdenominational web of Christian women’s groups volition besides beryllium created to beforehand equality and prevention of GBV.

The selected grassroots partners include: Women Empowerment Initiative (Bauchi), Foundation for Community Empowerment Initiative (Gombe), Gender Awareness Trust (Kaduna), Succour Foundation (Abuja), Hacey’s Health Initiative (Lagos), Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre (Anambra), Global Health Awareness Research Foundation (Enugu), Justice Development and Peace Centre (Edo), and Agape Development Initiative for Youths and the Vulnerables (Delta).

Prof. Ezeilo emphasized that taste and spiritual platforms, often misused to reenforce patriarchy tin besides beryllium almighty tools for liberation.

“The Bible itself promotes equality and condemns unit against women. Our extremity is to revive these truths and physique inclusive churches and communities wherever women are safe, respected, and capable to lead,” she said.

Expected outcomes of the task see stronger grassroots capableness to respond to GBV, reduced cases of abuse, and greater inclusion of women successful religion and assemblage leadership.

The station Group moves to curb gender-based violence appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.