Gender Based Violence: IPCR takes awareness campaign to Ekiti south
– Steve Ovirih.
Who suffers More between the two gender on the issue of gender based violence (GBV) ? Does gender violence occur to minors too? Can we classify domestic scuffle between couples as an incidence of gender based violence? These and many other important questions formed the bases of discourse at othe training on Gender Based Violence , an Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) training session for the people of Ekiti south senatorial district, which held at the Ilawe Ekiti town hall on Wednesday, the 23rd January, 2020.o
The mobilisation and awareness campaign against the issue of Gender Based Violence was a Federal Government Program which was facilitated by the senator representing Ekiti south in the upper legislative chamber, Senator Abiodun Olujimi with the consultancy and technical support provided by Hy-techs Services Concepts LTD, Abuja.
The resource person, Mrs. Adesola Olowokeere of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, IPCR Abuja, in her presentation, said the term Gender Based Violence is used to denote harm inflicted on individuals and groups that is connected to normative understanding of their gender.
This connection, she noted , can be in the form of cultural understanding of gender roles, both institutional and structural forces that endorse violence based on gender and societal influences that shape violent events along gender lines.
While noting that gender violence is often used particularly against women, Mrs .Olowookere stressed that gender based violence happens to people of all genders: men women, male, female and gender diverse individuals.
Idnentifying activities that are heavily associated with gender violence, Mrs . Olowookere listed war, noting that in a war situation , gender balance occurs between the combatants and civilians , in which case those who bear the brunt of the war are women and children. She said while men can escape by taking to their heels on sighting combatant forces , women even if they can run , will not because they cannot run away while leaving their children behind.
Olowookere observed that there is the prevalence of violence against women and this is very severe in Africa where around 1/3 of African women, report says, experience domestic violence within the family , some of which are attributed to ancient socio economic conditions that shape social norms about marriage patters, living arrangements and the productive role of women .: She said while society imposes roles for both sexes, the socially imposed role is what is called gender. ” While there are male and female sexes, the society imposes farming activities on the male while the female can stay at home and work in the kitchen . Thus, gender is the activities the society gives to each of the two major sexes,” she stressed.
Mrs . Olowookere maintained that violence is the rough treatment meted out to the alleged weaker sex or gender at any point in time , noting that rather than acclaim the air of gender violence by an acclaimed superior gender , the essence of the training is to preach gender balance, equity and fairness.
Highlighting forms of gender based violence , the resource person listed the following:
Emotional violence
Economic violence
Physical violence and
Psychological violence.
Breaking it down further, she highlighted the following: domestic violence such as rape , sexual assault and harassment, acid bathe throwing , reproductive coercion, female infanticide, pre- natal sex selection, obstetric violence, mob violence, harmful customary and traditional practises such as female genital mutilation (FGM) , dowry violence , honor killings ,spousal abuse and many more.
She said the mechanism for the subjugation of women arising from a sense of entitlements, ego , superiority complex and misogyny are also indices of gender based violence.
resource person stated categorically that domesticating violence cannot be justified under any guise , stressing that the highest rate of rape cases occur in the world today at 132.4 incidents of rape per 100,000 people. On sexual assault , she said there are more instances of unreported cases of sexual assault more because of the stigma that becomes the attendant consequences and in some cases the shoddy manners of investigation to ascertain the authenticity of the allegation.
She appreciated the effort of the wife of the Governor of Ekiti state , Erelu Bisi Fayemi for her affirmative action against rape and sexual assault against the weaker sex in Ekiti state, maintaining that Ekiti is one of the few states in Nigeria that have publicly legislated against the gender based evil of rape and domestic violence against women. She called on state legislatures across the country to follow this affirmative action so as to ensure that our women are not violated by bestial men whose stock in trade is to quietly stalk our females with the evil intention of molesting and violating them.
Clarifying female genital mutilation , Mrs. Olowookere said the practice is considered a form of gender based violence which has a great influence on a female’s body negatively. ” More than 200 million girls the world over have experienced female genital mutilation in thirty African countries and the middle East ,” Olowookere lamented.
Continuing, she said female genital mutilation is a discrimination against the girl child and women in general and it is a health right violation as well as a violation of the female child’s security and physical challenge. ” It is a condemnable practice which runs counter to woman’s s right to be free from torture , cruelty, in human and degrading treatment and the right to life when the procedure leads to death.”
She however noted that gender violence could also target the male in a situation where innocent boys are subjected to violent molestation and murder.
In a manner of speaking, the resource person said while marriage implies peaceful cohabitation between husband and wife , the issue of sex and copulation between couple should be consensual , noting that domestic violence occurs even in a sexual relationship where a partner is not ready for copulation and the other partner cannot control his urge for such.
In such scenario, Olowookere advised that a husband should learn to show understanding to the wife rather than enforcing his right to copulation with a wife who does not feel the urge for such perhaps because of the stress she has been made to go through earlier in the day. She charged husbands to always show understanding in such circumstances , while appeal to the women folk not to deny their husbands their rights and can easily appeal to their sentiment for a postponement of such exercise if the mood is not right so as to avert domestic violence and gender infraction.
: At the participants’ reaction session of the training which was anchored by the project consultant, Barr. Wale Akinbo, Mr Dayo Ogun from Ilawe Ekiti thanked the organizer and the resource person for her very incisive and thought provoking presentation. He however noted that assault sure as rape in the society is caused mostly by ladies who dress nude to public places , stressing that when a lady dresses nude, she has violated the emotions and sensibilities of the on lokers. He appealed to National Orientation agency to create a mechanism of re- orientating our ladies about their dress sense so that rape and sexual assault can can reduce in the society.
Mrs. Fabunmi also from Ilawe Ekiti in her reaction said the major cause of domestic violence is parental abandonment , stressing that when parents abandon their children , they easily make them susceptible to being manhandled by people whose stock in trade is domestic violence. She emphasised that child stalkers who prey on innocent children are as guilty as parents who abandon The children carelessly.
Evangelist Ore Olaiya from Igbara Odo Ekiti said while all that the resource person had said are apt, our society is getting decayed because home training has been relegated to the background in most homes. He charged parents to go back the drawing board and start instilling home training in their wards. ” A well trained child doesn’t dress loose; a well trained child doesn’t grow up to become a violator of other people’s rights . Economic violation of people’s rights through financial fraud and money Laudering as well as money ritual prevalent in the society is as a result of the failure of home training among African parents in this 21st century,” Evangelist Olaiya maintained.
A major highlight of the awareness and training program was the elaborate road show by the participants donning white shirts and polo as well as the project stakeholders. The road show moved round the entire breadth of Ilawe as the participants handed leaflets and literature on gender matters to the on lookers and passers by.
On the fringe of the event, the personel of the state security services on ground while speaking with thepolity.net said gender violence is a security risk and the rate of spousal abuse leading to deaths of either couple these days deserve the condemnation of all stakeholders.
The project consultant Barr. Wale Akinbo expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation so far given by the people of Ekiti south senatorial district. He said for mutual peace to be maintained in the society all hands must be on deck in order to stamp out vestiges of gender based violence.
