By Oginyi Ruth
European Union-United Nations (EU-UN) Spotlight Initiative on Monday engaged media professionals on the possible ways to eliminate violence against women and girl child in Nigeria.
At the two day media engagement which took place in Ibadan, the journalists drawn from states of the Southern Nigeria were charged to position themselves as advocates against gender based violence which has eaten deep into the society.
EU-UN, spotlight initiative presentation revealed that 43% of Nigerian girls marry before the age of 18 while 17 % of them do so before they clock 15 years.
20,000 new cases of obstetric fistula occur every year because of child marriages in the country.
According to the Initiative, violence and other forms of harmful practices against women and girls were on the rise in the country despite campaign against the phenomenon.
In a remark, UNICEF child protection Specialist, Mrs. Sunbo Odebode, noted that violence against women and girls was a silent killer that had taken the lives of many victims through physical, psychological or mental related health issues.
Odebode lamented that violence against women and girl child in Nigeria was yet to receive full legal support as some of the victims prefer to be in abusive relationships than face the ridicule of abandoning the relationship.
“The social context of violence against women and girls is based on the traditional patriarchal structure that defines gender. It is the belief in Nigeria being a patriarchal society that women are subordinate to men and when married, they surrender to their husbands.
” Women do not have a say in decision making, issues concerning their lives are decided upon and determined by others, usually men and older women; in the family, and violence is prevalent in the society “, she said.
James Ibor, Human Rights Activist, while speaking on confronting the political and social challenges around violence against women and girls advocated for special laws to protect women and girls against violence while child protection committees at the rural areas should be strengthened.
