Global support, panacea to violence against women

INTERNATIONAL day for the elimination of violence against women is observed on November 25 each year.  The day is set aside to call for global support for the socio-economic wellbeing of women, to end violence in any nomenclature against them and also protect their rights through the promulgation and enforcement of laws in any given society.

We had s3x consistently while she was still married to her ex hubby, her second child is mine —Husband

Although there is no vaccine or prescribed cure to end violence against women in any community, what is generally prescribed is to sensitize the public on gender love, understanding the opposite s3x as weaker vessel that can be managed without battering or any other violence and also to educate women and girl child on responsible behavioural pattern that can reduce s3xual harassment, rape among other inhuman manner against them.

Data from the United Nations says one in five women and girls under the age of 50 in 57 countries that were studied have encountered physical and s3xual violence. Also, a study carried out by the Thompson Reuter Foundation, pointed out that India, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and United States of America made up the top 10 countries on the violence ranking.

The concern of most experts in gender wellbeing is to work out the best way to end violence against women and girl child. Though the actual cause of the violence is unknown, experts opined that some of the violence is as a result of male chauvinism, change of values, socio-economic hardships, misleading cultural and religious beliefs as well as nonexistence of strong legal framework to protect them.

Ending violence against women is possible through the global support and awareness on the need to protect and respect women’s interest and rights. In fact elimination of all forms of violence against women has become a target in the United Nation’s new Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

The global support on preventing violence against women was contained in a document from the collaboration of seven United Nations entities; their target and pursuit is to seek for cooperation from all stakeholders across the globe to play their role and that government across the world must make and implement laws to prevent violence against women and punish offenders.

The Federal Government of Nigeria for example has not fully promulgated laws protecting women against violence, what it has done is implementing Violence Against Person Prohibition (VAPP) act which was signed in May 25, 2015 and it was to protect people including women against abuse, battery, economic abuse, exploitation, circumcision or genital mutilation, discrimination among others still suffered setback in the area of implementation.

The Federal Government should take a pragmatic stand towards ending violence against women by promulgating new laws and ensuring each state enforces its full implementation across the county.

• Kehinde-Ajala Sakirat

Abeokuta

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