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From Isaac Job, Uyo
Critical stakeholders in the fight against gender based violence in Akwa Ibom State have identified factors that help in the fight against the menace in the State.
They listed such factors to include: sufficient funding by government, continuous training of law enforcement agencies, service providers and legal practitioners .
Others include provision of psychosocial support for service providers, awareness creation for teenagers and adolescent groups in the communities, creation of more Sexual Assault Referral Centres(SARCs) across clusters of federal constituencies for ease of access for victims, rehabilitation of perpetrators to be better people in the society, inclusion of more male advocates in the communities to achieve zero tolerance to gender based violence as well as harmonization of gender based violence data between the Ministry of Justice and that of Women Affairs and Social Welfare.
They explained that the key stakeholders in this process are the police and other security agencies, Ministries of Justice, Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Health, Education, information, Economic Development, State Budget office, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), service providers, departments and agencies who in one way or the other, involve in the fight against gender based violence in the State.
This was contained in a 8 -point action plan in addressing GBV issues developed on Thursday at a round- table advocacy meeting with key GBV stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State on a project titled, “promoting a culture of zero tolerance for violence against women”, funded by Urgent Action Fund- Africa, organized by Women United for Economic Empowerment in Uyo, at the instance of complaints of lack of resources in handling GBV cases by key stakeholders.
Arising from the meeting, key stakeholders including the media, community women and GBV survivors said the need for the implementation of the above mentioned issues was necessary to aid proper fight against GBV in the State.
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Stakeholders who affirmed that insufficient funding has made their job difficult, said adequate funding will make their job easy, thereby aiding drastic reduction in GBV cases in the State and its possible eradication.
They cited instances where they used their personal finances to process GBV cases such as feeding of victims, transportation for victims for investigation, empowerment of survivors to become financially independent etc, advocating for the inclusion of budget specifically for GBV in the State in the 2025 budget preparation process.
They also noted that often times victims of GBV refuse to report their ordeals to the appropriate authorities for speedy action, urging them to report cases as soon as possible to aid speedy investigations and actions, as cases become invalid after 72 hours.
According to them, prompt report of cases by victims allow for speedy acquisition of medical attention and reports that will aid proper investigation, adding that such medical reports are obtained specifically from government health facilities and not private hospitals which they noted , could be influenced.
The executive director of WUEE, Mrs Iniobong Frank, in her welcome remarks said the meeting was for key stakeholders to rub minds on the advocacy issues from the women group communique issued at the women group capacity building conducted in June 2024 in the State during the 16 Days of Activism against GBV, and to share ideas on the already recommended anti- violence measures.
Frank who was represented by the finance and compliance officer of WUEE, Mrs Emem Ekong, said the meeting was to create an opportunity for validation and harmonization of the recommendations by stakeholders, stressimg the need for serious deliberations by participants to bring out workable ideas that would ensure total eradication of GBV in the State.
Presenting an overview of WUEE and the Urgent Action Fund- Africa project, the HES, WUEE, Mr Joshua Nya, said WUEE is a service provider which services are targeted at the less privileged and vulnerable members of the Society through funds from international donor agencies, while the project is to checkmate all forms of violence against women and girls in Akwa Ibom State.
