A’Ibom GBV C’ttee, Project Alert, AWDF unite against sexual violence in Secondary, Tertiary Institutions

Moved by the desire to stem the tide of Gender-based Violence (GBV) in academic institutions, the Akwa Ibom State Gender-based Violence Management Committee has commenced a tour of select schools in the state, to sensitise students on issues of sexual violence.

The enlightenment programme executed in partnership with the African Women’s Development Fund and the Project Alert on Violence Against Women, also features the establishment of ‘Kasa Club’ in the schools visited.

Speaking with TheMail Newspaper when the team visited the Cardinal Ekanem Seminary and Adiahaobong Secondary Commercial School, both in Uyo, on Monday, Secretary of the Akwa Ibom State Gender-based Violence Management Committee, Barr. Emem Ette, said she was impressed with the level of response from the students, adding that with the ‘Kasa Club’ in place, the students will not only be able to speak up on issues of sexual violence, but also know the appropriate authorities to channel their reports to.

“I am very impressed with the level of response. The boys (at Cardinal Ekanem Seminary) are very intelligent and seem to grasp the message we went to talk to them about. There were a lot of very good engagements. They answered questions, showed understanding and were able to summarize what we went there to tell them”, said Ette.

Barr. Ette further gave an insight into the operations of the ‘Kasa Club’ in the schools.

“Kasa is a Ghanaian word meaning ‘speak up.’ Our major funder is the African Women’s Development Fund, situated in Ghana. We want to establish our presence in schools where we’ll have peer group interactions. Members of this club will be the ones doing advocacy for us, sensitising other students. Whenever there is a student going through any abuse, they can now reach out to their peers who will now know where to report to.

“We have dropped with them the Akwa Ibom State Unified Referral Document and the training manual. So, the Kasa Club will be able to coordinate response to issues of Gender-based violence, especially, sexual violence in that school”, she hinted.

To ensure the club meets its targets, Ette disclosed that the state GBV Management Committee will, through its Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, keep in touch with the Kasa Club in the different institutions.

“The Akwa Ibom State Gender-based Violence Management Committee is made up of members from different line Ministries and the NGOs. We also have the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit situated in the Ministry of Justice, where we go round to monitor response and the clubs we’ve set up in schools. For example, the Kasa Club will be meeting once monthly, when we’ll go and join them in their meetings. Then every week, we interact with them to see if they have gotten any report. There are some targets we give them to meet monthly”, she added.

Also speaking, the Programme Officer for Project Alert on Violence Against Women, Nsini Udonta, revealed that five institutions have been selected for the sensitisation tour, including Cardinal Ekanem Seminary, Uyo, Adiahaobong Secondary Commercial School, Uyo, University of Uyo, St. Columbanus, Ikwen, Obot Akara and the Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua.

“We’re here in Akwa Ibom State to conduct school sensitization on sexual violence in academic institutions in Nigeria. The project is being funded by African Women Development Fund and we’re implementing it here in partnership with Akwa Ibom State GBV Management Committee. We started the project in 2021 when we conducted a study on sexual violence as it affects young persons in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. The second stage was when we came for advocacy visit to key stakeholders in the area and we’re here again to talk to the students”, she said.

On his part, Dr. Aniefiok Ukommi, noted that the Initiative will impart in the students the culture of protecting those who are vulnerable to sexual violence, especially, in academic institutions.

“The idea is to get them young and ready to an extent that they can actually contribute to making the society safe. Once we get them at this age, what they gain as knowledge on sexual violence can help the society, because these are people that may grow up to become victims or perpetrators, but if we are able to get them at this early stage, I think the society will be safer for all of us”, he said.

During the tour, the team enlightened the students on the forms, prevalence and impacts of sexual violence, as well as authorities to contact on issues of sexual violence.

The students were also enlightened on the various forms of sexual violence, including psycho-social, physical and core sexual cases.

Senior Prefect of the Cardinal Ekanem Seminary, Peter Edet, who spoke with our Reporter, thanked the team for the visit and promised to sensitise other students on sexual violence.