AEIG engages students, persons with disabilities SGBV

By Stanley Onyekwere

As part of its project targeted at strengthening traditional justice systems to combat Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), a Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO), Abiodun Essiet Initiative for Girls (AEIG) yesterday took strategic awareness campaign on mitigating the menace, to hundreds of indigenous students and persons with disabilities.
Some of the students are Ambassadors on Anti-SGBV in the high schools, representing their high schools to tell their colleagues about SGBV and calling the attention of their counsellors and teachers on any form of violence within the school premises.
AEIG organised a town hall meeting on gender and social inclusion with the theme: “Engaging the youths as anti SGBV Ambassadors on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Their Community”, yesterday, in Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Speaking at the event, AEIG Founder, Abiodun Essiet, disclosed that protection officers from NAPTIP and Nigeria Correctional Service officers, shared their contact detail with some of the Ambassadors, so that even during their long holidays they will help break the culture of silence, by reporting accordingly on any form of violence that is happening within their community and sphere.
She added that in attendance were 100 students from majorly schools attended by indigenous children from across six Area Councils of the FCT, and people with disabilities, “because we don’t want to leave anyone behind, as SGBV doesn’t have limitation, so even people with disabilities are also being violated, and they need to be exposed to what they need to do.”
“Since we introduced this project to some of the ambassadors, we have gotten feedback from various schools about SGBV issues such as sex for marks and sex for grades, that have been reported to us, which we have also skyrocketed the report the education board in the FCT.
“So there have issues about SGBV within the schools premises, which we envisaged that it couldn’t happen, but we have strengthened our ambassadors to be able to know what to do at every point in time”, she stressed.
On her part, AEIG Executive Director, Mayowa Akpati, disclosed that the Organisation has reached over a thousand students and raised about thirty anti- SGBV ambassadors in these schools to become change agents not only in their schools, but also in their respective communities and the world at large.
Also speaking, AMAC Desk Officer, Non Custodial unit of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), Grace Okpor, described the engagement of youth on SGBV issues, will go a long way to mitigating the menace.
Okpor, who commended AEIG for the initiative, also called other stakeholders to promote measures that would help to effectively reduce its prevalence in the society.
For SGBV Ambassador, Abdulmu’min Zulfa, from Government Secondary School, Gwagwalada, because of the project, they have gotten involved in educating fellow youth on the menace especially how to promote gender equality and social inclusion in the society.
She adds: “There have been some records of SGBV from students, and as ambassadors, we talk and direct them to go to zhe guardian counselling unit, where they are properly advised on what to do.”
Similarly, another SGBV Ambassador, Ezekiel Josiah, who is also a student of GSS Gwagwalada, through the assistance of AEIG they have learnt so much about the menace and how to help tackle ot within the school environment.
According to him, as a youth, and teenager who is still growing up, exposure to the ambassadorial role to be actively involved in engineering a positive change of narrative, even if he is not in a position to do so much like the government, he and others ought to work towards promoting things that would curb the menace.