Some stakeholders have converged and brainstormed on combating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the Holy places in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in the wake of the recent high prevalence of the menace, especially in religious institutions.
The stakeholders mainly drawn from Christian and Muslim faith-based organizations as well as government and non-governmental groups, deliberated in Abuja, during a town hall meeting.
In his remarks, Mr. Gabriel Onyali, a Protection Officer with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), who gave an overview and forms of SGBV, noted that despite the rise in the incidence of the menace, there is a lot of improvement in terms of advocacy and sensitization.
He attributed the development to the number of cases that the agency is currently receiving, which is higher than what it used to receive before.
“Now women are turning up and opening up to report cases that concern Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). So the issue of the culture of silence, we are gradually trying to break it, because even men are coming up to report whatever that happens to them in terms of physical and psychological abuse. So, the fight against SGBV is progressing,” the AMAC NAPTIP Protection officer stressed.
In his contribution, Chairman, Interfaith, Bwari Area Council, Sheik (Dr.) Ibrahim Yusuf, called for attitudinal change through continuous education of religious leaders, to enable them to be true and good examples in the society.
Yusuf said: “If we really need to curb this menace, then education is important, as there is no way you can change the heart without education.”