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Gender Based violence, including rape, domestic violence, murder and sexual abuse is a profound health problem for women across the globe. And in Nigeria, the recurrence of the vice is assuming a worrisome rate. As such concerted efforts are needed to tackle the remote and immediate causes of the problems.
“Gender-based violence cannot be addressed without confronting the underlying cultural beliefs and social structures that perpetuate violence against women,” says Mercy Makinde, the founder Amazing Amazon Initiative (AAI), a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on women and youth empowerment.
“In our society women are defined as inferior and the right to dominate them is considered the essence of maleness itself.”
Makinde says her organisation has chosen to start sensitisation campaigns in secondary schools across the country against domestic violence as part of their programs to mark the International Women’s Day come March 8th 2017. The TOUCH ME NOT Campaign is an awareness programme which is set to educate the children on Rape, Domestic and Sexual Violence as they often fall prey mostly to those they trust.
Confronting violence thus requires re-defining what it means to be male and what it means to be female. She says younger generation need to be taught the right perspective early on gender relations in order for them to imbibe the right mindset.
“We believe it is important we start the sensitisation among secondary school students, some of whom are victims of domestic violence and rape, she says.
“Adults are already set in their ways. So taking the campaign to them gives us the dual opportunity of assisting those among them who are victims of these ills and also conscientize them against indulging in such when they become adults.
Among other things, the TOUCH ME NOT campaign aims to raise awareness among young boys and girls on the negative effects of sexual abuse and other forms of gender-based violence and provide relevant training programmes on the cause and effect of sexual abuse and other forms of gender-based violence to secondary school students.
It also aims to offer psychological support to survivors of sexual abuse and other terms of gender-based violence and improve the psychological well-being of child survivors of sexual abuse, gender- based violence and relationship disharmony
