GBV: Nigerian minister rolls out activities for 16 days of activism

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, on Thursday in Abuja, launched activities to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an annual global event.

This is to raise awareness about the pervasive issues of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Nigeria, which affects millions of women and girls.

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that will kick off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.

The minister urged Nigerian women, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private sectors and others to join her in driving an all-inclusive campaign against GBV, adding that the campaign will be sustained beyond the timeline.

Campaign

The campaign, which is supported by the United Nations (UN), calls for action to end violence against women and girls. It is themed: “UNITE! Invest to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls.”

The 16-day campaign was launched by activists at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991.

It is used as an organising strategy by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

In support of this initiative, the UN’s Secretary-General launched in 2008 the campaign ‘UNITE by 2030’ to End Violence against Women, which runs parallel to the 16 Days of Activism.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s designation of 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in memory of the Mirabal sisters, who were brutally assassinated on 25 November, 1960.

“The campaign calls on citizens to show how much they care about ending violence against women and girls by sharing the actions they are taking to create a world free from violence towards women,” UN Women wrote on its website.

“This year’s campaign also calls on governments worldwide to share how they are investing in gender-based violence prevention.”

Planned activities

The minister listed some of the activities to commemorate the global event to include town hall meetings with women groups to discuss GBV issues.

Others include GBV awareness rallies in six geo-political zones in collaboration with the Office of the First Lady.

The ministry also plans a flag-off nationwide campaigns with the release of Helium Balloons as well as interdenominational prayers for Muslims and Christians in mosques and churches nationwide.

Mrs Sulaiman-Ibrahim highlighted the need to ensure sustainability of the issues raised, even after the days of observance with a view to bringing cases of GBV to its barest minimum.

She said, “Gender-Based Violence (GBV) remains a hydra-headed monster affecting millions of women, children and marginalised communities in Nigeria.”

She said incidences of reported cases soared to a “frightening scale” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, noting that this led to the government declaring a state of emergency against the increasing rate of sexual and gender-based violence across the country.

GBV cases in Nigeria

Between 2013 and 2018, findings from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), revealed that incidences of spousal physical, sexual, or emotional violence grew from 25 per cent to 36 per cent, with spousal violence being the most prevalent.

Also from the DHS data, instances of sexual violence against women from ages 15 to 49 increased from 36.9 per cent to 44.9 per cent.

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The situation informed the lamentations from different quarters, such as a coalition of civil society organisations under the aegis of #StateofEmergencyGBV Movement and the Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN).

They decried the rising GBV cases as more Nigerians suffer or survive multiple forms of violence ranging from deprivation to sexual violence, physical assault, emotional abuse, cyber-attacks, female genital mutilation, and child marriage.