Education
ALHAJI Sani Umar-Jabbi, the District Head of Gagi in Sokoto South Local Government rea, has urged school principals, guidance and counseling officers to intensify vigilance on relationships among students.
Umar-Jabbi made the call at a training on mitigating the challenges of Gender Based Violence (GBV) on Wednesday in Sokoto.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was organised by Community Dialogue Committee (CDC), an NGO, supported by Global Rights and Kukah Center.
The district head expressed dismayed over the attitude of some parents who remained adamant “when their wards are abused or sexually molested.”
He assured the traditional rulers’ support in exposing GBV perpetrators and urged residents to always expose perpetrators towards sanctioning them accordingly.
”We will continue to voice out our concern until perpetrators of GBV and thier associates in our communities change thier attitude,” he said.
In his presentation, Prof. Mustapha Namakka, underscored the importance of awareness, interactive engagements in understanding GBV among the people and approaches to tackle the menace.
Namakka urged school administrators in the state to redouble efforts in supervision of teacher-students relationships in their respective schools.
The don said efforts should be made to ensure that perpetrators of GBV and related offences were punished by stipulated authorities to serve as deterrent to others.
He called on government to come up with referral pathways and other support services connecting students with appropriate platforms on GBV issues.
The Chairman, Sokoto State GBV Response Team, Malam Rabi’u Gandi, advised counseling officers and school principals to encourage GBV survivors when seeking information through mentioning names of potential suspects.
”GBV is a serious violation of human rights and a life-threatening health and protection issue.
”Children and youths often face greater risk of physical, sexual and psychological violence, such as rape, sexual abuse, trafficking and forced prostitution when they left thier homes.
”It is estimated that one out of every three women experienced sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. GBV is preventable and our response team is committed to promoting gender equality and protection,” he assured.
He observed that the consequences of GBV include; devastating with long term repercussions for survivors and sometimes it could lead to death.
“Government and communities need to address GBV through implementing quality programmes toward prevention, mitigation and responses.
“Our primary purpose is to safeguard the rights of victims and support states to uphold their responsibility to ensure that people of concern are protected against GBV,” Gandi added.
CDC Secretary, Ms Sadiya Bello, who spoke on women inclusion for sustainable development and resilient in the security issues called on husbands and community leaders to understand women condition and facilitate thier economic empowerment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured interactive session as well as questions and answers on GBV and other related services. (NAN)
F.A
April 24, 2024
Tags: Counseling Masters GBV
