The Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO has raised concerns over statistics in Nigeria which indicated that violence against women increased sporadically to 297 per cent from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organisation said it had mandated all its member states to support the United Nation’s Secretary General’s ‘UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign,’ with the theme “Orange the World,” saying it calls for global action to increase awareness, galvanize advocacy efforts and share knowledge and innovations.
The Secretary-General of NATCOM-UNESCO, Idowu Lateef Olagunju expressed the concern on Friday in Abuja during the launch of Flash Actions On Girls Safety, a project of Tabitha Cumi Foundation
She stressed the need to combat the menace of violence against women and girls, especially in this era of pandemic.
According to her, the issue of violence was no longer an individual or societal challenge but a global one.
Olagunju restated the mandate at the National Commission for UNESCO towards promoting all its ideals, especially efforts that were geared towards the actualisation of the Sustainable Development Goals 5 targeted at achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
“The statistics about the increase in gender-based violence 297 per cent since COVID-19 is scary. In order to see this vision come through in Nigeria and end the trend, all hands must be on deck,” Olagunju said.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary, National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, Prof. Simon Akpama Ibor stressed the need to support marginalised girls and women.
He said the girl-child education empowers, liberates and helps nations to make substantial progress socially and economically.
According to Ibor, reports have it that 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence, adding that the issue is not only devastating for survivors of violence and their families but also entails significant social and economic cost.
He warned that failure to address the menace of GBV in the country, especially as it relates to the girl-child, poses a significant cost for the future in developing countries.
“Particularly in African nations, including Nigeria, the plight of the girl-child is increasingly becoming horrendous daily, and this terrible episode of their lives ultimately affects who and what they become in future. Hence this issue needs to be addressed.
“With the advent of COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant increase in violence against women and girls, especially during the lockdown, there’s no gainsaying that its adverse impact on women and girl’s socio-economic welfare has grown in alarming proportion and education is the key to emancipating women and girls from gender-based violence,” he said.
