Follow Us on Google
From Sola Ojo, Abuja
A project supported by the United Nations Trust Fund for Violence Against Women is empowering female survivors of violence in Kujama and Kasuwan Magani, located in the Chikun and Kajuru Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.
The “Together We Can” project, implemented by the Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative (EWEI), is providing psychosocial support and training 30 community health workers to respond to gender-based violence (GBV) cases in the pilot communities.
Facilitating the training, a public health nurse with the Salama Assault Referral Centre (SARC) at Gwamna Awwal General Hospital, Kakuri, Kaduna South Local Government Area of the state, Rachel Sanke, noted that the increase in reported GBV cases is due to increased awareness of the subject matter by stakeholders.
“We are getting to the point that people have begun to wake up from the culture of silence.
“Now that people have begun to report these cases of gender-based violence, like rape, the training is all about what help health workers at the community level can render since we are having more of these cases at that level.
“For example, we showed them how to report and how the first 72 hours in a rape case are crucial to ensure the survivors get post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent possible infections like HIV and emergency contraceptives to prevent unplanned pregnancy from already traumatic experiences.
Read also: IWD: Kebbi Governor’s wife, Zainab, seeks CSOs collaborations to curb GBV
“In doing that, we ensure confidentiality so people can trust the system.
“So I want to appeal to Nigerians that when there is a rape case, they should not rush to clean up the survivor, even when it irritates them,” she said.
Other News
One of the trainees, the Manager of the Primary Health Care Centre, Kasuwan Magani, Yanet Sunday, said the training would improve his facility’s response to assault cases.
“We now know how to handle and document cases better. We have improved knowledge of what to do and what not to do, including reporting to security agencies,” he said.
The Adolescent Desk Officer, Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Zainab Mohammed, said the training became necessary since trainees were the first contact in the community.
“Training our health workers as the first contact at the community level is what the board has been doing, and we sometimes do that in partnership with our support partners.
“So, this training further buttresses what we are doing to improve access to basic health services at the community level,” she added.
Speaking on the sidelines of the training at a hotel in Kaduna, the spokesperson for Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning for the project, Mendie Jeremiah, reiterated that the project is currently supporting 60 female survivors of violence in the Kujama and Kasuwan Magani communities.
“The initiative aims to bridge the gap in accessing support services, particularly in rural areas, and promote confidential reporting of cases.
“With a focus on prompt intervention, health workers are being educated on the crucial 72-hour window for post-exposure prophylaxis and emergency contraception,” he said.
Currently, the four SARCs in the state are located at Dr Gwamna Awwal General Hospital in Kakuri, Yusuf Dantsoho General Hospital, Tudun Wada, Kaduna, Gambo Sawaba Hospital, Zaria, and Sir Patrick Yakowa, Kafanchan.
