Some Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Bayelsa on Sunday commenced their advocacy against sexual and gender-based violence in schools and churches in the state.

The CSOs said the campaign was designed for the girl child awareness and protection against sexual predators.

It is being coordinated by the state Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT), a pet project of the wife of Bayelsa governor, Gloria Diri, along with the International Federation of Women Lawyers, Standup for Women Society and the state chapter of the Nigerian Association of Female Engineers.

Other partners include the Starrz Safety Initiative, the Carenepere Initiative, Tep Tep Humanitarian Foundation, GREP and the Albinos Foundation.

In a speech in Yenagoa, the chairman of GRIT, Dise Ogbise, commended the governor’s wife “for giving the team a platform to work and protect the girl child and female gender from abuse”.

Mrs Ogbise said the partnership with other organisations had helped to pass the message across the nooks and crannies of the state capital.

“The sensitisation is yielding positive results as more awareness is being created on preventive and protective strategies to curb issues of sexual and gender-based violence.

“We also appreciate Diri for the lead because this move has further strengthened GRIT’s​ relationship with other CSOs,” Mrs Ogbise further said.

Earlier, the governor’s wife called on the girl children to be conscious of the happenings in their surroundings and not allow sexual predators to jeopardise their future.

“Everyone is a suspect, including some parents, guardians and teachers,” Mrs Diri said.

She advised the male children to always learn to love and protect their sisters from any form of violence.

(NAN)