TRAINING OF COMMUNITY EDUCATORS ON HOUSEHOLD DISCUSSION

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) is any harmful act of sexual, physical, psychological, mental, and emotional abuse that is perpetrated against a person on the basis gender norms and unequal power relation between men and women. It also comprises threats of violence and coercion.
Sexual and gender-based violence has grievous, long-lasting consequences on the lives of victims, their families and communities, and also impedes development progress. Where sexual and gender-based violence persists, women and girls are usually disaproportionally affected.
One of the prominent factors that sponsor the proliferation of this menace in our society is ignorance. To mitigate this challenge, the Coalition of Eastern NGOs (CENGOS) in partnership with the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), Nigeria; with funding support from AmplifyChange organized a two (2) day capacity building workshop in nine (9) states of Nigeria for selected community members . The trainees/participants for the Community Education program were selected across the three (3) senatorial zones in the nine states including Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo, Abia, Anambra and Ebonyi States, Nigeria. The theme of the project is, “Building Bridges to End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Increase Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Right (SRHR) Information and Services”
The Community Education program is aimed at training and raising community educators (CEs) who will be at the fore-front in the crusade against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) at the community level. The trained community educators are made up of Traditional leaders, Religious leaders, Women Leaders, Youth Leaders, and Media Practitioners. Their primary responsibilities are to conduct household discussions and compound meetings on SGBV, keep surveillance and report/refer cases of violence in their respective communities to the appropriate service providers.. They will as well work with the earlier trained stakeholders and service providers including Traditional leaders, Religious leaders, teachers, Women Leaders, Youth Leaders, Security Officers, healthcare providers, Media Practitioners/organisations, Legal Aid Providers, NGOs among others.
The notion behind this project is to impact people at grassroots level with relevant information and skills needed to adequately combat Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in our society. We believe that when people are rightly informed, it will be easier to tackle these challenges.
The participants (Community Educators) were so elated at the information and skills acquired through the training workshop as they expressed profound gratitude to the organisers.
We look forward, with great anticipation, to the success of the program as the trained Community Educators will soon be deployed

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CENGOS DEMAND GOVERNOR WIKE’S ASSENT TO RIVERS VAPP BILL

Worried by the upsurge in cases of rape and other gender based violence in Rivers State in particular, and Nigeria in general, especially as it seem the coronavirus pandemic have provided an additional opportunity for perpetrators as a result of the restriction of movement and total lockdown by the government that followed, the Coalition of Eastern NGOs (CENGOS) is demanding assent by the Rivers State Governor, to the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill

CENGOS arrived at the position, after a two-day Household Discussion Training for Community Educators on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which it organised in collaboration with the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) with funding support from AmplifyChange.

The coalition also regrets the delay experienced in the trial of cases involving perpetrators of rape and other forms of gender based violence which are prolonged in most instances, especially when underage children of 9 months, 3 years, 5 years etc are involved as currently witnessed in the state. CENGOS therefore want to call on the Rivers State Government to set up special courts to try cases of sexual and gender based violence for quick dispensation of justice.

CENGOS commends the show of extra-ordinary solidarity by the Rivers State House of Assembly in Passing the VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS PROHIBITION (VAPP) BILL, and we join other members of the civil society community to call on the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Chief (Barr.) Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, to in the interest of victims/survivors of rape and other forms of gender based violence, assent to the Violent Against Persons Prohibition Bill as passed by the State Assembly.

We urge victims to speak-up and break the culture of silence, and call on all residents and Nigerians to stand up and take responsibility in the fight against sexual and gender based violence.

CENGOS Rivers State calls on Faith Based groups, NGOs and the general public to demand for Governor Wike’s assent to the VAPP Bill.

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11 Ebonyi communities renounce female genital mutilation practice

No fewer than 11 communities in Ikwo local government area of Ebonyi State on Friday at Igbudu community resolved to abolish the practice of female genital mutilation.

The people made the decision at the public Declaration on the Abandonment of FGM in Ikwo Local Government Area.

The event was organised by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) with support of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA). CIRDDOC is an independent, nongovernmental, and not for-profit organisation established in 1996 and committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, strengthening of civil society and the promotion of rule of law and access to justice.

The communities include; Igbudu, Ndufu Amagu, Ndiegu Amagu, Ndiegu Achara, Ndufu Echera, Inyimagu and Ekpoomaka. Others are Ekpa Elu, Eka, Ameka and Okpuitumo communities all in Ikwo Local Government Area.

Leaders of the communities in their separate remarks said that they resolved to abandon the harmful practice because of its health implications and its violation of the reprodictive rights of the woman and girlchild.

Eze Dominic Alo, the traditional ruler of NdufuAmagu community commended the organisation for promoting the campaign against FGM practice and noted that his community would join others in the council to stop the inhuman practice.

He said that the message would be passed down to the practioners and other members of the community while efforts would be made to effectively sensitise the people on the dangers of the act.

The traditional ruler was represented by Chief Dominic Nwuruku. He said: “I want to make a commitment and to assure that the message and lessons learnt from this exercise will be taking down to our various villages, churches, schools and markets.

“This is to ensure that the practice of FGM is completely eradicated in the local government area.”

Mr Igwe Okede, the town union president of Igbudu community explained that the people of the community were ready to abandon the practice.

“We are not only declaring the abandoning of this age -long harmful practice but we will ensure that we enforce compliance on community members.

“I am pledging to work to ensure that no community in our LGA is involved in this wickedness and gross violation of rights of the girlchild and women,” Okede said.

Also speaking, Mr Amechi Okorie, the town union president, Ndiegu Amagu called for synergy among stakeholders, government and the Civil Society Organizations to ensure the elimination of the practice in Ebonyi communities.

The community leaders, on behalf of their various communities, signed a document publicly outlawing the practice in their respective domains and pledged to constitute monitoring committees to enforce compliance of the declaration.

Earlier, Ms, Onyinye Okaah, Executive Secretary of CIRDDOC, said that the public declaration of abandonement of FGM implied that community leaders were no longer in support of the practice.

Okaah, while applauding the communities for renouncing the practice however, noted that some people could still indulge secretly in the act.

She urged stakeholders to constitute FGM committees that would enforce the decision of the communities including placing local fines on violators.

Some victims who participated at the event also narrated a harrowing experience they underwent and vowed to leverage the campaign to sensitise other women in their communities.

Mrs Chinenye Okeworo, a victim in her late 30s said that she underwent the practice before her first child and lamented that she was pushed to do it by her father.

“I didn’t want to do it; it was my father who pressurised me saying that if I refused that I’ll give birth to an imbecile that was why I yielded,” she said.

Also, Mrs Caroline Chukwu, another victim, said that due to the cutting that she didn’t usually have sexual urge whenever the husband wanted to have sex with her due to pains she experienced each time she had sex.

Ebonyi is one of the states with highest prevalent rate of female genital mutilation in the country, while Ikwo council area has the highest number of cases in the state.

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