By Vivian Emoni
The Tabitha Cumi Foundation, an NGO, on Wednesday called on relevant stakeholders to protect girl-child and women from all forms of Gender Base Violence (GBV) and create effective sensitisation to halt the menace.
Mrs Tayo Erinle, the Executive Director of the organisation, made the call at a Flashlight Actions on Girls` Safety (FLAGS), Project Baseline Dissemination Meeting, in Abuja.
Erinle said that the aim of the meeting was to have findings of the GBV on flashlight project section of girl’s safety.
She said that the FLAGS was a three year project which would commence from May 2022, to end in May 2024, funded by Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and Girls, implemented by the foundation.
She said that the project would support 750 marginalised out of school girls between the age of 10 to 19 years in 10 communities of the FCT, Nasarawa and Niger states to be better informed on GBV.
According to her, about 45 per cent of girls don’t even know what GBV is all about, because they don’t know about it does not mean that they don’t suffer it.
`We find out that a good percentage of communities do not support the girls that suffer GBV rather they stigmatise them, that is the major reason why we need to sensitise the communities.
“We need to advocate for better support for girls. Our strategies is survivor centered strategy. It is a strategy to build support round the girls, to build a multi central support from the communities.
“The support that will stand for the girls so that when this violence cases come up, the community heads don’t handle it in a careless manner, leaving the girls in pain.
“We want to build strong support among those communities, such as traditional leaders, religious, the families’ fathers and mothers at various homes, among others.
“So, when such support is strongly built, it will go a long way to protect the girls and women in the communities,’’ she said.
The executive director said that the foundation would set up a safe space in various communities in the states, adding that the effort was to ensure that FLAGS project was effectively implemented.
She said that the essence was to have a centre where the girls and women would be receiving moral lesson on violence, to enable them understand all about GBV and how to handle the situation.
She also said that the foundation was building health officers in the primary healthcare centres, where first aids can be administer to such victim, adding that such would help the victim have evidence.
Director, Primary Healthcare, Bwarri Area Council, FCT, Dr Sunday Goji, appreciated the NGO for its effort in ensuring that most girls in the communities were supported and protected from various violence.
Goji said that the office would continue to support the NGO to ensure that its project was implemented effectively.
Mr Michael Abah, Head, NGO in the Ministry of Health, said that the ministry would continue to partner with the foundation to promote sensitisation against violence.
Abah said that the ministry would as well providing its support to ensure that all forms of violence were control in the country.
Mrs Shakirat, Section Assort Resort Centre (SARC), Bwari General Hospital, said that the hospital was trying its best to ensure that victims of any violence were being provided with adequate care.
Shakirat, however, thanked the foundation for supporting the girls and women by protecting and educating them on the dangers of violence.
Mr Sani Ibrahim, who represented Masaka Chief, Mr Bisalla Chetubu, called on all the relevant stakeholders to support the foundation to fight against violence, adding that the effort would promote development in the country. (NAN)
