GBV: FCTA Encourages Female Students To Speak- Out

By Remi Johnson

Over 310 students drawn from the 62 wards of the six Area Councils have been sensitized on the need to Speak- out when they are harassed sexually.

The Mandate Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Women Affairs Secretariat, Mrs Adedayo Benjamins- Laniyi gave the advise when she led the students on a road walk to campaign against Gender Based Violence, GBV in Abuja.

She explained that the road walk was an advocacy initiative of the FCTA to commemorate the 16days activism against GBV, and create awareness that such acts will not be tolerated in the nation’s capital.

She said the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike is currently championing the “FCT Day Of The Adolescent Girl Child’ in the territory, towards creating a safe space for them.

According to her, ” this will become a national event by next year.But it is starting here, Abuja, with Nyesom Wike as the Super champion of the “He for She for adolescent girls in the FCT”.

While calling of GBV Victims to use the phone number 080 78 11 11 26, Mrs Benjamins appealed to parents, community leaders who prevent their wards or subjects from speaking out because of stigma, to rescind from such acts to enable Government nip the menace in the bud.

“In FCT, to orange our world, means to orange the hope of the adolescent girl child.It is to teach our young girls to speak up and not to allow anyone to intimidate them…Please call, speak- out, report, do not hold back, there is help. We at FCTA Women Affairs Secretariat has Mr Project’s backing to bring renewed hope to the people.

“We want to assure this young girls that when perpetrators of this wicked act tell you not to speak, it is a lie. You need to report, because if you don’t report their is no reference to what we need to follow through in the place of getting justice.

” We will provide protection for you and intervention by giving you a safe space; until the challenge and the threat to your life is gone. The Secretariat will work with all women and girls including people living with disabilities, IDPs and the vulnerable groups in rural areas”.

Mrs Benjamins- Laniyi who further pointed out that provocation bring about rash reaction, encouraged men and women alike to control their temper in the face of provocation, to avert violation of human rights.

“We are concerned about inclusion in terms of gender. Our Agenda as a gender is not to course division or stigmatize the boy child, it is rather to create a holistic environment where a boy respects the girl child and the girl child respects the boy child, and they together have an inter-gender representation of the renewed hope of this nation in leadership”.

Some students that participated in the road walk on GBV campaign, thanked the organizers for the privilege, and pledged to step down the knowledge garnered.

Edited By Grace Namiji