Posted by 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, Mrs. Oghenekevwe Agas, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Social Development, made this known.
She claimed the incidences had not yet been posted on the dashboard while pointing to the cases registered in the State, some of which were still pending and others of which had already resulted in convictions.
Due to the alarming rate of Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), she said that since the COVID-19 era, GBV sensitization has become necessary. She continued, “It eventually caught the attention of the federal government and it created a situation room to monitor and collate data from the various states.”
Mrs. Olivia Akponehwe, the resource person, led the participants in an interactive session on using the National Dashboard.
Speaking on the many kinds of SGBV, Akponehwe emphasized that verbal abuse and harassment were also types of GBV in addition to rape.
She clarified that victims were typically referred to as survivors and instructed the Area Officers to avoid passing judgment on survivors in their interactions with them and instead reassure them of confidentiality protection.