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25 September 2021International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls! Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is undoubtedly a global anomaly plaguing all continents of the world. In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggested that 35% of women worldwide i.e. about 1 in 3 women have experienced some sort of physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime and more sadly is that most of the violence against women and girls are perpetrated by men.
The UN has defined violence against women in 1993 and in a joint statement proposed the coordinated and sustained efforts from all stakeholders.
"any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." United Nations
Why you should get involved.
Several advocacy programs and counselling have contributed to the reduction of violence against women and girls in saner climes. However, there is still much work to do suggested in the 2019 report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in the UK. Women and girls continue to be victims of all categories of violence and abuse in the United Kingdom.
There is no gainsaying there was a surge in reports violence against women and girls during the lock down period necessitated by COVID-19 pandemic – termed the shadow pandemic. Of course Women and girls in Nigeria were not spared. A report by the Pulitzer Centre described rising cases of abuse against women and girls in Nigeria during the global pandemic. This is indeed worrying and emanate from:
- the failure to acknowledge the huge burden of the problem
- inherent risk factors for violence against women and
- devastating impact or consequences to the individual, family, and country at large.
Hence the need to urge all stakeholders to intervene. In Nigeria, community norms; condoned violent attitudes, low levels of access to education, high female unemployment rates, cultural belief in family honour, male sexual entitlement beliefs and importantly the lack of legal sanctions as well as dissolution of laws which do not proscribe VAWG have been implicated as factors feeding the problem.
Given that VAWG is not peculiar to Nigeria but globally pervasive, on 25th November 2020 Walk347 joined the UN, the National Association of Seadogs - Pyrates Confraternity and other public health and civil rights societies to advocate for the elimination of VAWG . We embarked on a social media campaign to sensitize the global community on the need to eliminate the scourge of violence against women and girls.
We also had physical presence by collaborating with a English District General Hospital located in the Midlands. Our collaboration ambassador Dr Obinna Anuruegbe had focused group discussions with the paediatric and midwifery staff of the hospital. He opined that
" it is important to sensitize healthcare staff to pick up cues from pregnant women, mothers and girls when they attend hospital. This is because children exposed to abuse are likely to be at increased risk of mental health issues, increased likelihood to be involved in social vices and risky sexual behaviours, and reduced educational performances, inability to form good social relationships."
During the campaign, healthcare staff were made aware of the burden of VAWG, its impact on families, children, and effect on the nation’s economy. Midwives reported an increased incidence of mental health problems such as depression, suicide among women and girls, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, reduced productivity, and increased healthcare burden. Healthcare workers carried placards to lend their voice to the advocacy program