By Justina Auta
An NGO, Comfort Stream Aid Foundation (CSAF) on Friday in Abuja, distributed pocketbooks to individuals and groups on strategies to end Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
Project Coordinator, CSAF, Theresa Anthony said the effort was in collaboration with the Coalition of Feminists for Social Change (COFEM).
According to her, the collaboration comprised leaders, activists, practitioners, and academics working globally to end VAWG.
Anthony said the inauguration and distribution of pocketbooks to various groups will serve as resource material to support those working in humanitarian and development setting.
This, she noted was to articulate and implement approaches to addressing VAWG.
She said it would also empower them with skills to enable critical engagement with policy makers.
Anthony said that the pocketbooks would also provide a forum for connection, discussion, problem solving, mutual support and activism to advance women-centered strategies for ending VAWG.
“The pocketbook is about mechanism or a guideline that enables those working toward ending Gender Based Violence (GBV) on how to go about women intervention programmes, advocacies, how to involve policy makers, how to identify and tackle issues.
“This book will help us to dig deeper to be able to respond to issues that has to do with women and children and intervene on GBV,’’ she said.
The coordinator added that it would also bring new possibilities to promote the rights of women and girls, elevate the dialogue on equal gender representation, policy reform and advocacy.
According to her, it will also collectively identify and implement strategies and actions to overcome the challenges feminist-informed efforts faced in addressing VAWG.
She attributed some of the causes of GBV to include, discrimination against the female gender, inequality, culture and traditions.
She, therefore, stressed the need to encourage girl-child education, promote gender equality, involve men and other stakeholders in eliminating VAWG as well as ensure perpetrators of such acts were prosecuted according to the law.
One of the resource person, Lola Ibrahim, Founder, Women Against Violence and Exploitation (WAVE) Foundation, stressed the need to take advocacies on ending VAWG to the grassroots level, where VAWG and other harmful traditional practices were prevalent.
Ibrahim, represented by a member of the organisation, Miss Bidemi Adedire also harped on the need to enlighten women and girls on their human rights and the need to speak out where necessary.
A participant, Ene Jonathan, Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN) attributed the increasing cases of GBV to cultural and traditional inhibitions that had restricted women and girls from speaking out when faced with such situations.
Jonathan called for more advocacies using the various media platforms, as well as partnering with traditional and religious leaders to eliminate the practice in the society.
