From Esther Akaa, Lafia
ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), has called on government at all levels to adopt a care-centered approach in preventing all forms of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in both public and private spaces.
The Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), working to promote women’s rights, combat poverty and all forms of injustice also called on the government to create an inclusive government by priotising the rights of women and girls through empowerment and inclusion in governace.
The Country Director of AAN, Mrs Ene Obi made the call on Monday in Abuja while commemorating the 2021 International Women’s Day with the theme: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-I9 world.”
In a statement issued by the Communications Coordinator, AAN, Nihinlola Ayanda and made available to journalists, Mrs Obi said the incorporation of care for survivors of GBV would help in the re-organisation of the economy and society at large.
According to her, reports of domestic violence doubled amid an almost paralysed support system for survivors of violence due to the lockdown, following the outbreak of COVID-I9 pandemic, saying women were the most hit by social and economic disruptions caused by the pandemic.
She said that the current insecurity bedeviling the nation has further plunged the country into multiple and intersecting crises with women as primary targets and easy preys.
“The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is apt.Today, we recommit to challenging and calling out gender bias and inequality.
“As the world beams a spotlight on women, we call on the Nigerian government to reflect and move from policy to action. Governments at all levels should classify and prioritise all GBV services as essential services and ensure that they are publicly funded, universal and gender responsive including services for excluded populations without discrimination.
“ActionAid Nigeria also calls for a scale up of investments in public services, including public healthcare services in order to reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care and domestic work; and ensure women public sector workers who are at the frontline have decent work and a guarantee of international labour standards,” she said.
