Ogun State Government Calls for Male Engagement Against GBV

In a bid to curb gender-based violence and be an agent of change, Ogun State Government in South West Nigeria has called for male engagement in the advocacy.

The State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Adijat Adeleye, gave this admonition at a 16 day-activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV) campaign (male engagement), organised by the Ministry in collaboration with United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA.

Adeleye identified the need for policy makers and stakeholders to eradicate GBV in the society, noting that male engagement becomes necessary in tackling gender inequality and character modification.

According to the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, “the task of ending GBV should go beyond educating and sensitising only the girl-child, but raising male champions, with the mind-set that they should give support to females, working them through the journey of life to promote gender-based equality for societal development”.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr. Oluwaseyi Sokoya, represented by the Director, Women Empowerment Services, Mrs. Wonuola Kassim, said a lot of focus and attention had been on the girl-child with the belief that girls were more vulnerable to all sorts of violence.

Sokoya said that men were important, as they also experience some forms of sexual abuse.

“We are here to raise males as champions to advocate elimination of GBV in our tertiary institutions. It is time to protect our male gender from all forms of violence, increase male capacity so they can equally unite with the female gender and invest in the prevention of gender violence against all and sundry”, he said.

The Dean, Student Affairs of the institution, Dr. Ahmed Abdul-Malik, urged the male-child to stem the menace of GBV, calling for more education and public enlightenment towards its eradication, in order to achieve a society devoid of violence.

Appreciating government for the awareness, the President, Student Union Government of the institution, Emmanuel Akinfetan, said it was essential for a male child to have adequate knowledge on gender-based violence and other sexually related abuses, as most of the perpetrators were assumed to be males, adding that a lot had to do with their upbringing.