SGBV: Rivers D/Gov Inaugurates Club

From Ugochukwu Desmond, Port Harcourt

In a bid to sustain the fight against sexual-based violence (SBV), the Rivers State Deputy Governor Dr. (Mrs) Ipalibo Harry Banigo has inaugurated ‘Protect the Girl Child Initiative Peer Group Club’ to assist in the war against SBV.

Banigo during the inauguration of the Club on Sexual Violence at the Federal Government College in Port Harcourt said the fight against gender-based violence or sexual abuse cannot be won without bringing the boys on board.

Represented by her Senior Special Assistant on General duties and the Coordinator of the Protect the Girl Child Initiative programme in her office, Barr. Inegogo Fubara, Dr. Banigo said

“We cannot successfully end this fight against gender-based violence or sexual abuse without bringing the boys on board. We know the perpetrators mainly are boys, but the boys also are victims of sexual abuse, so we thought it wise to start the Protect the Girl Child Initiative Peer Group Club, this is the first one, we decided to come to Federal Government College which is a Unity School, so you all are lucky to be part of something that is going to be really great, we plan to start up this club in other schools but, have started with this FGC PH. By engaging you boys we believe that issues that have to do with consent, issues of communication and rape, all those issues of sexual abuse requires not only the female gender but also the male”.

Dr. Banigo disclosed that this Peer Group Club was borne out of her desire to have a one on one talk with the children, from the fall out of the seminar she organized last year on mental health and child abuse, adding that it was important to have a one on one interaction with the children on issues relating to child abuse, noting that it was called Protect the Girl Child Initiative, but boys were encouraged to join the Club whose President and Vice President are Male.

According to the Deputy Governor, boys were encouraged to join because the fight to end sex abuse and gender-based violence cannot be successful without bringing the boys on board.

“We know the perpetrators mainly are boys but the boys are also victims of sexual abuse, so we thought it wise to start the Protect the Girl Child Initiative Peer Group Club, this first one in the Federal Government College which is a unity school, so you all are lucky to be part of something that is going to be really great, we plan to start up this clubs in other schools but have started with this one”. She further stressed.

The Deputy Governor said by engaging the boys’ issues that have to do with consent, issues on communication and rape, issues of sexual abuse require not only the female gender but also the male, stressing that when the boys are involved we are creating a safer environment for everyone not only the girls but the boys also.

In her presentation, the Resource Person, Mrs. Onyiye Ananaba said globally one out of three women experience sexual violence, if we have sixty million people within a space, at least 20 million, which represents 23 -36% would experience unwanted sex with an intimate partner.

While noting that approximately 20% of women and 5 to 10 % of men in the world are reported to have been survivors of sexual violence at infancy.

According to her 150 million girls and 7million boys experience sexual violence globally.

Highlights of the occasion was the inauguration of an eight-man executive of the club headed by Master Alex-Igbarima Golden an SS3 Student.

NAWOJ calls for the establishment of a gender-based desk in police stations

In a related development, the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Rivers state chapter, has called for the establishment of a Gender-Based Violence Desk in all Police Divisions across the state, for effective community policing.

The call was made when the Leadership of the NAWOJ Rivers State chapter led some of its members on a visit to the office of Divisional Police Officer DPO of Elimgbu, SP Nnamdi Omoni.

The visit was to charge the former state police public relations officer, SP Omoni, who is now the DPO of Elimgbu, to continue in his effort to ensure that every form of gender-based violence, rape, defilement are curtailed and if possible, completely eliminated.

They expressed confidence in him and were optimistic that he will bring reforms and rejuvenate the Elimgbu Police Station, as well as intensify effort in the fight to completely eliminate all forms of gender-based violence, rape, wife and husband battering, among others.

The women branch of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, while describing Omoni as a dedicated, hardworking, and selfless officer with proven track records, also enjoined him to open and install a gender desk where issues bothering on sexual harassment, violence against women will be tackled from the root.

Speaking on behalf of Chairperson of NAWOJ Rivers, Susan Serekara-Nwikhana, the financial secretary, Anita Ogona, emphasized that if the gender-based desk is established at Elimgbu Division and every other Division in the state, it should be manned by gender-sensitive police officers trained to handle issues on Rape, abuse and violence against women and girls.

“The people you are seeing here are members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, but on this visit, we came on behalf of NAWOJ, Rivers State to felicitate with you and to congratulate you on your new position as the divisional police officer of Elimgbu, and also to partner with you.

“During a visit to the CP, we gave him some of our objectives, the aims of NAWOJ, and the things we love the CP to do in Rivers State, since you were part of that meeting, we are happy that you were elevated from where you were at the headquarters to this new division, and we know that with your stay here you are going to do remarkable things.

“We expect to see transformation in the police sector, we expect to see police officers well dressed, dutiful, cautious, we expect that you bring those attitude, a habit from the headquarters to this place.

“Nigerians wants to see police that is friendly, effective to man the policing activities of the 21st century, so, we know that you will bring your wealth of experience to bear in this division, we want to congratulate you on behalf of my chairperson, Susan Serekara-Nwikhana, who is unavoidable absent.”

In his response, Omoni appreciated NAWOJ for the visit and thanked the Police high command, commissioner of police Rivers State for finding him worthy and professionally competent to be deployed to Elimgbu as the DPO.

“This is my first experience as a DPO, and I think I am not finding it funny anyway but by the special Grace of God, I am stabilizing, and I think it is worthy of note to mention and commend the journalists in Rivers State, you have been so awesome and wonderful, you made me succeed in that my office.

“I cannot thank you enough for coming here today, what you have done today will inspire me to do more, because I know that the brains behind my success as the police PRO are here to inspire me to do more, so, the people of Elimgbu police station should expect decent policing, devoid of human-rights infractions.

In this place too, I want to assure you that the impeccable human rights records I have kept over there, I will sustain them here, I will police with a human face.”

He assured of his commitment to ending gender-based violence in the community as well as the state.