By Simeon Mpamugoh
Women group under the aegis of African Women on Board (AWB) has launched a new research project into workplace violence against women.
The group is an African women led independent non-profit organization dedicated to reshaping the future for African women and girls globally by mainstreaming their voices and fast tracking their trajectory into the leadership roles of the future.
In a press statement made available to Daily Sun, the group led by Nkiru Balonwu, said that the project was based on its 2020/2021 theme: ‘The power of Africa’s female economy.’ It pointed out that the initiative will begin by focusing on violence, women, and the workplace, a core research project conducted in partnership with Ford Foundation with a view to exploring African women as entrepreneurs and consumers.
Noting that there was a significant gap in understanding the prevalence of such acts particularly in the workplace, as relates to both corporate and non-corporate environments including offices, marketplaces, restaurants, homes, hospitals and online, the group stated that violence against women can take many forms including intimidation, sexual harassment, and online abuse as well as physical, sexual, emotional and economic violence.
“Gender based violence (GBV) especially Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is not only widespread but also a major impediment to women and girls’ agency, development and participation within households and societies. In many parts of Nigeria, violence is accepted as a tool for the subordination of women and used as an instrument of control over women’s bodies and lives. This not only degrades women but also impacts on their rights, dignity and wellbeing”, observes Olufunke Baruwa, Program Officer Gender, Racial and Ethnic Justice, Ford Foundation, West Africa.
She opined that major contributing factors to the persisting violence that women and girls experience were entrenched social norms and practices embedded within religion and culture that shape power relations between women and men. “These norms and associated values simultaneously affect women and girls’ lives; limit the effective implementation of progressive laws and policies that advance their rights, resulting in negative outcomes, particularly for those in rural areas. Ford Foundation is making a strategic choice to focus on preventing VAWG by investing in programs and organizations addressing social norms that contribute to perpetration and normalization of the problem.”
On the action plan of the findings, the group said “AWB will conduct surveys and focus groups, and produce a new podcast featuring transparent accounts from women who have experienced such acts within their working environments. The organization will also partner with forward -thinking businesses and brands to conduct anonymous employee work experience surveys and gather more granular feedback on the patterns of abuse taking place.
“The practical findings from this research will be used to help stakeholders -women, men, workplaces, regulatory bodies, policymakers, etc better understand and tackle violence against women, and create policy models that can be applied to workplaces across the continent. A Gender Equality Certification programme, aligned with the United Nations’ SDG 5, Target 2, has been created to help organizations implement safer working environments, providing assessments, recommendations and trainings for practitioner certification.”
The group says it is committed to advancing narratives that help improve realities for African women and girls, and that this new initiative will also emphasize the crucial role that women play in wider economic growth. “The primary goal is to eradicate violence against African women and its detrimental effect on their immediate physical and mental wellbeing. However, the reality is that violence against women is a complex issue often driven by deeply rooted patriarchal biases held by women and men, sexist barriers, economic hardship, mental instability, and other factors.
“Many women who themselves operate micro, small and medium enterprises for example face domestic violence directly tied to their entrepreneurial pursuits. So the wider goal with this research is to better understand the pre-existing social and psychological factors that go into creating violent workplace environments, and help to facilitate more equal footings where female ambition can more easily translate into career growth.” Nkiru Balonwu AWB boss sums up.
The group calls on all and sundry to get involved going forward, adding, “Those who have ever been threatened by a customer at work, experienced physical or online bullying on duty, been chased around a conference table, asked for sexual favours in exchange for a promotion, groped, grabbed or catcalled, have been subject to one of the many forms of workplace violence that women are still dealing with every day.”
It invites individual or organizations interested in sharing their experience or collaborating with AWB to mail it via [email protected], even as it declares its solidarity with Nigerian youth against police brutality, bad governance and all forms of oppression in its hashtag #AWBEndViolenceAgainstWomen #EndSARS #EndPoliceBrutality #EndBadGovernance. #