To eradicate violence against women and girls (VAWG), the Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative (EWEI) on Friday, engaged men and boys from Kujama and Kasuwan Magani in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The one-day seminar, organised by EWEI with support from the United Nations Trust Fund to end violence against women, was held at City Comprehensive Academy in Kujama to promote inclusive approaches to addressing VAWG.
Taking the participants at the seminar through a presentation entitled: “Intersectionality in Action: Promoting Inclusive Approaches to Addressing VAWG in their respective communities”, the Permanent Commissioner, Kaduna Peace Commission, Rebecca Sako-John, decried that one in every three females experiences violence in their lifetime. Intersectionality is a critical framework for understanding how different forms of oppression and discrimination intersect and compound, leading to unique experiences of marginalisation and exclusion. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term in 1989 to describe how black women experience both racism and sexism simultaneously, leading to a distinct form of oppression that is not captured by looking at either racism or sexism in isolation.
Rebecca emphasised the need for collective action to combat the scourge by being deliberate about involving men and boys who may not know the implications of their violent acts against women and girls.
“They should start thinking towards addressing issues of GBV inclusively, especially for women and girls who are survivors of crisis in Kajuru Local Government,” she said.
The Programme Manager and VAWG Expert for EWEI, Mrs. Juliana Joseph, said the seminar was a part of her organisation’s activities to mark this year’s 16 days of activism on gender-based violence.