“Gender-based violence not restricted to women alone”-NGO
Cleen Foundation, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), says Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is not restricted to women alone, as it also affects men.
Mrs. Ruth Olofin, the Acting Executive Director of the foundation said this on Thursday in Abuja, at a one-day Methodology Workshop on Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV).
Olofin said that gender-based violence was a pandemic within pandemic threatening both the male and female gender which called for quick intervention.
“Since the period of COVID-19, Gender-based violence has become another pandemic within a pandemic and what it means is that it is going out of control.
“GBV is now a major global challenge and the fact that we are highlighting this issue means that it is a thing of concern because it is affecting lives globally.
“When we also talk about GBV, it is not just about women alone, men are also being affected, boys too are being attacked based on their gender but women and girls are mostly affected,” she said.
She said that the workshop which was to gather experience and information from the police was critical, because law enforcement agents played vital role in addressing GBV.
Olofin said that there was need to involve the police as critical stakeholders in GBV and there was need to train and retrain them on rapid response appropriate in handling reported cases.
Mr. Salaudeen Asheem, the Director of Programmes of the foundation, also said that the role of law enforcement agencies, especially the police could not be overemphasised on matters of gender-based violence.
Asheem said that training and retraining of personnel on ways to address cases of GBV was also important.
“The police can no longer see or address issues of GBV in a traditional way, giving the threat posed by this menace; it must handle cases of GBV as a crime against the state.
“All law enforcement agencies must strive to identify the gaps hindering the halt of this menace or factors fueling this acts and collectively work to end it,” he said.
Mr. Dayo Olaide, the Deputy Director of MacArthur Foundation, said that there was need for all hands to be on deck in tackling both sexual and gender-based violence.
