France Pledges Support To Fight Against GBV In Nigeria
By BUKAR BOLORI
France has promised to continue to support the fight against gender based violence in Nigeria, noting that the time has come to take stock of what has been achieved so far to put an end to this virus.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, Ketty Regis who stood in for the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of France to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Jean Francois Hasperue, at a panelist breakfast debate as one of the activities for the 16 Days of Activism against GBV 2024, said: “In 1995-2025, next year this declaration will be 30 years old. Time to take stock? What have we achieved in 30 years? What have we learned? What lessons have we learned from the various commitments and recommendations?”
She noted that for the French Embassy in Nigeria, this year’s 2024 edition of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence this means 13 magnificent projects across Nigeria, 11 awesome states across the country where the projects will take place, 15 creative civil society organisations supported, and between 150 and 200 people directly targeted by our activities.
She said: “Every year we remind ourselves, and this year will be no exception: ‘GBV is not just a women’s issue; it’s a human rights issue’.
“We have chosen to do things differently for this year’s event, because we are working hard to raise awareness of this major cause, and our partners are doing the same. We’ll start with a debate, followed by an educational game launch called ‘GBV Avengers’.’The question is: what does real responsibility look like in the fight against violence against women and girls? This is the question we will be discussing.”
She noted that: “This question has two facets, (i) the first being that perpetrators must answer for their acts before the competent authorities (a zero- tolerance system), which is what we owe to every victim, but also (ii) access to justice and support for victims. This part is closely linked to the first point.”
She said with around 20 million survivors of GBV in the, Nigeria accounts for 10% of the world’s 200 million survivors, noting that this is an alarming figure.
One of the high points of the event is the panelists and participants agreeing that there was urgent need to put an end to gender based violence.
