The Kogi state government has called for more decisive measures by NGOs, institutions, corporate organisations and individuals to mitigate gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Fatima Kabir-Buba, made the call during a stakeholders’ engagement to mark the “Orange the World 16 Days Activism against GBV” campaign in the state.

The programme, organised by the Centre for Integrated Health Programme (CIHP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs, addressed GBV issues in Kogi.

The commissioner urged the stakeholders to focus on investment, financing and implementation of different strategies to prevent violence against women and girls.

She said the campaign, which began at the inauguration of the Women Global Leadership Institute in 1991, was used by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

“November 25 to December 10 is known as the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, which provides a time to stir up action to end violence against women and girls around the world.

“It also serves as a means of demonstrating solidarity in eliminating all forms of violence; it is therefore used as the colour of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,” she said.

Ms Kabir-Buba described GBV as a phenomenon that transcends social, economic and geographic borders and impacts girls, women, men, boys, and gender-nonconforming individuals all over the world.

“The Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 2018 found that nine per cent of women aged 15 to 49 had suffered sexual assault at least once in their lifetime while 31 per cent had experienced physical violence.

“Kogi, in recent past, has witnessed a rise in cases of gender-based violence though not fully reflected in the National Gender-Based Violence (NGBV) data dashboard, which should serve as a tool for prevention and response to GBV in Nigeria.

“These are some of the gaps we are expecting this engagement to close,” she said.

Ms Kabir-Buba said the government had inaugurated a 23-member technical working group to tackle gender-based violence in the state with the cardinal object of ensuring that gender equality was upheld in all spheres of human life.

Earlier, Kalu Samuel, CIHP’s Gender Mainstreaming Associate, said 2,203 cases were reported in Kogi in 2023 by the NGBV Data Situation Room and Dashboard for Prevention and Response to GBV in Nigeria.

(NAN)