Delta Reiterates Commitment To Eradicating Gender Based Violence

Delta State government has reiterated its commitment to eradicating Gender Based Violence, (GBV) in the state.

Permanent secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Social Development in the state, Mrs Oghenekevwe Agas, made this known during a one-day Step- Down Training for Social Welfare Officers of the ministry and other caregivers on the use of the National GBV Dashboard in Asaba.

She explained that since the COVID-19 era, sensitisation on GBV became necessary due to the alarming rate in Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) that eventually caught the attention of the federal government that had created a situation room to monitor and collate data from the various states.

Agas explained that the workings of the National Dashboard and the essence of the training was to keep the Area Officers, who were on the lower level, abreast with the issues concerning the dashboard so that when incidences occurred, concerning GBV, the officers would have the knowledge on how to fill the incidence forms and have their reports properly filed an submitted for onward upload to the National Dashboard.

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She however expressed disappointment over the low position Delta state was placed on the National Gender Based Violence (GBV) Dashboard.

The PS pointed to the incidences of SGBV, recorded in the state, with some ongoing and some convicted by the court, yet the incidents had not been updated on the dashboard.

The Resource Person, Mrs. Olivia Akponehwe, took the participants on an interactive session on how to use the National Dashboard as well as record GBV cases on their incidence forms before submissions.

Akponehwe, who spoke on the various forms of SGBV, pointed out that asides rape, harassment and verbal abuse were also other forms of GBV.

She explained that victims were normally referred to as survivors and advised the Area Officers not to be judgemental in their dealings with survivors, but rather, should assure them of protecting their confidentiality.