DEAN Initiative, a non-profit organisation says it has trained no fewer than 100 Gender Based Violence (GBV) advocacy champions to address sexual and gender based violence in the country.
Mr Semiye Michael, Executive Director of the organisation, disclosed this at an event tagged: Knowledge Sharing Session organised for the Spotlight Initiative Implementing Partners, in Abuja.
He said the DEAN Initiative Spotlight project was aimed at strengthening the capacity of women’s coalitions, youth networks and disability-inclusive organisations to advocate domestication of laws, policies and state action plans.
Michael said that sexual and gender-based violence had become a pandemic which had eaten deep into the society and must be addressed.
According to him, our champions have conducted community based data mapping to underscore the knowledge and awareness levels of laws on GBV within the Federal Capital Territory.
He added that the session would provide implementing partners across the different United Nations agencies with share key findings, outcomes and challenges of their various activities.
“The increasing cases of sexual and gender-based violence across the country have been an issue of concern coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period in the country.
“That is why this knowledge sharing session under the spotlight initiative will give us an opportunity to discuss with other implementing partners on better ways to address the issue.
“The knowledge sharing session will promote collaboration and partnership as implementing partners work together to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
“Through the collaboration, partners hope to learn how best to improve on their different outputs to enable them to achieve the objectives set out on the spotlight initiative project.
“Recording success in eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls means that there is the need to work together and share knowledge and ideas that would help us record more success than on our individual strength,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Spotlight Initiative is a global multi-year partnership between the European Union and the United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030.
NAN also reports that the event had in attendance representatives of the UN Women, Swedish Embassy, Centre for Social Justice, Youthhub Africa, and The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) among others. (NAN)
