LAGOS ADVOCATES PROPER PARENTING AS PANACEA FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
Lagos State Government has advised parents to create more time for their children in order to curb the increasing rate of gender-based violence currently ravaging many homes.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Lola Akande gave the advice at a parenting forum on how to end sexual and gender-based violence held at Ikeja recently.
Akande, who was represented at the event by a Director in the Ministry, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Odusanya stated that the forum was designed to train gender Ambassadors to get attuned issues of gender-based violence and be able to handle such situations whenever the need arises.
She said, “Gender-based violence as we know undermines the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims, yet it remains shrouded in a culture of silence. Victims of violence can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, traumatic fistula, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and even death.”
While reflecting on the theme of the forum – “Preventing Sexual/Gender-based violence through sexual education training for Ambassadors”, Akande observed that children whose parents create adequate time to educate are at minimal risk of abuse.
She stated that the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, in addition to its statutory responsibility of organising vocational training and empowerment programmes for women to be independent and self-reliant individuals, also provides avenues for interaction among relevant stakeholders to take care of the psychosocial and socio-economic needs of women by proffering solutions to different challenges facing them.
Akande regrettably noted that despite the extensive work being done by women organisations, governments and other partners, many women and girls who are victims of sexual abuse are still afraid to come out and talk about it or seek help, due to the fear of stigmatisation.
The Commissioner informed participants that the Ministry is employing the instrument of continuous sensitisation and empowerment as ways of addressing the menace of poverty which is believed to be one of the root causes of sexual and gender-based violence.
She revealed that Lagos State Government, through the Ministry, organises massive Vocational Skill Acquisition Training for residents of the State especially Women, saying that about 60,000 trainees have so far graduated from the 17 functional skill acquisition centres located in different parts of the State since inception.
Mrs. Akande commended the efforts of United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) for its determination to end sexual and gender-based violence in the world and its collaboration with Lagos State in particular, just as she urged parents who would be trained as gender Ambassadors to see the training as a unique opportunity to touch lives positively.
Topics discussed at the training include “The role of parents in Sexuality Education to End Sexual/Gender Based Violence” and “Sexual/Gender Based Violence: The Legal Perspective”.