Stakeholders Advocate Better Ways To Strengthen Gender Based Violence

Stakeholders Advocate Better Ways To Strengthen Gender Based Violence 

Iduozee Efe Paul, Benin.

In a bid to protect the rights of men women, and girl child stakeholders  have advocated for a better way of strengthening gender based violence.

Speaking in a two day training organised by the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) of State Response and Referral Groups on emergency response and referrals in Edo state, the resources person of every Prof. Sylvester Anya, said 

his lecture  centred on the general principles of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and the procedure for referrals.

Prof. Anya stated that, the lecture materials or the manual for training that they came with, they have undertaken to give it to all critical stakeholders.

" We handled the general principles on Gender Based Violence (GBV), then we did the procedure for referrals. Then everything that was in the agenda, we covered it.

"We can say that the population was more yesterday. We are sure that we reached every critical stakeholder, especially their leadership in those states. The lecture materials or the manual for training that we came with, we have undertaken to give it to all critical stakeholders.

"They too have promised to disseminate it down to every other responsible person. We are coming back after a year to do monitoring and evaluation to see whether what we learnt today is being implemented in those states. And to see ways of getting it better done in the states.

"You can see Edo having two SARC centres. But when you go to other places like Abia, Anambra, it's one SARC centre. It tells you that critical stakeholders are interested in the good of the state," Prof. Anya asserted.

In her remarks, the Senior Legal Programme Officer with Women Aid Collective (WACOL), Dr. Helen Kalu, said the mental, medical and psychological aspects of the survivors is what they are  focusing on for the project.

Dr Kalu stressed that, they also talked about multi-sectoral referral pathways of GBV.

She said," We had a two-day training of state response and referral groups, comprising the GBV Management Committee, the Technical Working Group on Emergency Response and Referrals.

"I know all of these things about sexual and Gender-Based Violence happening in Edo State. And then we started yesterday with guiding principles on how to respond and refer cases of GBV to help the survivor.

"We also saw about the mental aspects of the survivor's well-being that it needs to be taken care of. The medical aspect and the psychological aspect and these three aspects are the focus of this project.

"So all the service providers in Edo State were represented today and then yesterday. So we brainstormed on the things we need to do better than we have been doing them. We talked about multi-sectoral referral pathways.

"We talked about the confidentiality and then informed the session approach of the survivor that it doesn't matter, the person may have been battered, the person may have been traumatised, but the person has the right to decide what he or she wants.  

"Whether he wants medical treatment, he wants justice, prosecution, whether he wants anything at all. And then we also looked at the issue of safe space, where the survivor can be kept so that the person will not be re-traumatised, the person will not,  the evidence for prosecution of the case will not be eliminated by the aggressor or the family.

So then removing the survivor from the toxic environment where they may be.  Second or future violence perpetrated, and then we focused on the Vivian Anatomy Centre, Sexual Assault and Referral Centre, that have a one-stop shop providing all the services."

Talking about how the occasion comprised of various professionals, Dr. Kalu said,"we have all the professionals there. So we looked at them, how effective, how efficient are we going to make them so that the set-up, the facilities, the equipment, all the resources will not be in vain.Today, we were able to look at coordination.

"We also looked at documentation. And then we looked at information sharing and all of that. And we also brought a template on the terms of reference for the gender-based violence management committee.

"So what are their roles, we discussed at length, we looked at all the members, what they are supposed to do, their quarterly meetings and all of that. 

"We were also able to harmonise, have a harmonised AMA work plan, where activities were streamlined, the objectives, the time frame, the people responsible to make the activity happen, and then the expected results. And the truth of the matter is that it's not just going to be on the face value, it's not going to just be on paper that this has been done.

"WACOL, with the help of RoLAC, will be coming back to do monitoring, to also continue mentoring all the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Managers, the team, and everybody involved in responding to GBV. 

"So we are coming back to see what they have done with the knowledge they have impacted today. And then we will also evaluate what we need to do further and how to help.

"And this is a one-year project. So the next phase will be interfacing with the police, the judiciary, because all of them are in the chain of justice delivery. So they need to know, because we understand that time is of essence in issues of GBV.

"So we must be conscious and give a salaried hearing to cases of GBV. So otherwise you will lose evidence, otherwise the case will be messed up. So all of these things we are looking at, and we know that it will stay to be better for it as we continue implementing all the principles, and then timely investigation, prosecution, and all of that."

More so, one of the participants, Mrs. Esosa Onegbamon, from the Ministry of Women affairs and Social Development, Gender, Focal Person, said the sessions for the two days training effort has been productive and rewarding.

 She said for their SARC personnel, the training will help them to deliver effectively as they carry out their counselling, investigation and prosecution.