NLC trains Journalists on reporting gender based violence in the work place

A one day dialogue on the role of the media in the campaign against Gender Based Violence and Harassment GBVH, in the world of work, held recently.

The virtual meeting was organised by the National Women Commission of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC with support by the US based Solidarity Centre AFL/ CIO.

NLC said that the dialogue was part of its activities to commemorate this year’s International women’s Day which comes up in March every year.

Speaking, the Chairperson of the NLC Women Commission, Comrade Mercy Okeziah, described the media as very strategic in creating a space where gender issues can be adequately reported in the media with the aim of bringing the required awareness on the dangers of not creating a safe working environment for all especially women.

Deputy Chairperson, National Women Commission, NLC , Hajia Salamatu Aliu, shared how NLC has  been leading various campaigns to encourage women to speak up against GBVH and break the culture of silence society condones around GBVH saying that the campaign will be sustained until government and employers do the needful to protect women in Nigeria.

Member countries of the International Labour Organisation ILO at its one hundredth conferences in 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland, overwhelmely adopted the Convention 190 or C190, on GBVH.

The Convention defined GBVH as “range of unacceptable behavior and practices including threats of such behavior, maybe a single or repeated occurrence, aimed at, result in or likely to result in physical, Psychological , sexual or economic harm”.

Member countries including Nigeria which also signed the Convention, are expected to not only ratify but domesticate the Convention in their respective countries.

Many countries have however neither ratified nor domesticated the Convention.

The media dialogue according to the organisers is also a call on the government of Nigeria to as a matter of urgency ratify and domesticate the Document.

Addressing the participants who are Labour Correspondents drawn from different media organizations, the Senior Gender Specialist in the Equality and Inclusion Department at the Solidarity Center AFL/CIO, United States of America, Ms Robin Runge, said it was “really important for Nigeria to ratify the C190 as it will have a profound impact on the globe….”

She said it was impossible to have a decent job and equality in the world of work without the ratification of Convention 190 adding that the US looses trillions of dollars to GBVH.

Ms Runge promised that the Solidarity Center will continue to support the campaign and media network to bring the needed awareness on issues around the GBVH.

The Head of Department, Women and Youth Department of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Rita Goyit, who said that NLC women are passionate about the Convention, called on the Nigerian government to identify measures of breaking down the C190 to fit into the system as it moves to ratify and domesticate the Convention.

She said that Nigeria and the NLC played significant role in the birth of the document and so cannot afford not to do the needful in ensuring that the Convention becomes law in Nigeria

Ratifying and domesticating the Convention she said, will put Nigeria among the countries that respect human rights as well as providing a sense of security for all.

Speaking earlier, the Country Program Director for Solidarity Centre AFL-CIO,   Sonny Ogbuehi, commended the media for their partnership and asked that they join their voices in the campaign against GBVH.

According to him, “the media has a critical role to play in ensuring that issues of Gender Based Violence and Harassment at work places are brought to the front burner”, he said.

Mrs Nkechi Odinukwu, Senior Programme Officer, Solidarity Center AFL/CIO who moderated the Dialogue, called for strengthening of existing laws in the country to accommodate the goals of the Convention.

Odinukwe  said that C190 recognises how domestic violence particularly can affect employment, productivity, health and safety of families and outlines how  employers  can recognise its effects and implement policies with specific measures “like flexible work arrangement and specialized leave”  that allows victims to remain employed while seeking safety.

Responding on behalf of the Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria LACAN, its Chairman Michael Oche, promised that the  Association will play whatever role necessary to ensure that the issues around GBVH are adequately reported.

 

Ime N