NGO expresses concern over increasing sexual violence against PWDs

A Non-governmental organisation, Deaf Women Aloud Initiative (DWAI), has expressed concern over increasing rate of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) against Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

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This was made known by the Executive Director of the group, Mrs Helen Beyioku-Alase, on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of a two-day training for newsmen, with funding from Urgent Action Fund, an NGO.

Beyioku-Alase said “deaf women and girls live a life of deprivation and misery in silence”, adding that their hearing disability
prevent them from accessing justice.
According to her, deaf persons are most times victimised.
She stated that in Nigeria, most deaf-related researches are outdated, with little data to demonstrate their needs, “and yet they
are a huge group of people in the society.“Without research and evidence, they will remain forgotten and marginalised group and this is one objective this training for journalists is trying to address to change the narrative.

“The media being the voice of the voiceless and critical stakeholders as regards the issues of community cannot be absent in winning this fight
and as, the need for collaboration cannot be overemphasised.

“No woman should have to experience violence, including SGBV, and if a woman is targeted for abuse, then she should be able to get help.

“Unfortunately for deaf women, service agencies are not accessible. They don’t know where to hire a sign language interpreter,” she stressed.

Beyioku-Alase said that women with disabilities are highly vulnerable and susceptible to abuse, adding that some certain cultural beliefs and practices
even portray them as less human.

She, therefore, called for change in the narrative, saying that this category of people must be recognised as humans.
Mr Chris Agbo, the Executive Director, Qualitative Magazing, a resource person at the training, called on the media to focus more attention to
issues affecting people living with disabilities in their reportage.
He added that the media must pay particular attention to the challenges faced by deaf women and begin to change the attitude of the society towards them through their stories.

Agbo advised media practitioners to always work with sign language interpreters for them to get clearer picture of what the deaf wanted.

He also urged private and public institutions like hospitals, schools and churches to make available in their daily activities the service of sign language interpreters to make things clearer for the deaf.

MTO/Punch