By DADA AYOKHAI
The chairperson of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists i (NAWOJ), Edo state chapter, comrade Adesuwa Ehimuan has appealled to the female folks to endeavor to speak on domestic violence against them rather than dying in silence
The Edo chairperson who also serve as Edo South coordinator of the women’s body made the submission during a town hall meeting organized by Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL) in Benin for stakeholders from Edo state senatorial district.
The well attended event took place at the Urban Oasis, hotel in Benin City .
In attendance were stakeholders drawn from religious bodies, civil society organization, youth groups and trade union bodies as well as representatives of Ministry of Social
Development and Gender Issues, staff of Customary Courts amongst others.
Among issues discussed at the event were the procedural ways to put an end to harmful norms
and cultural practice that tend to promotes violence against women and young people in the society.
In her welcome address, the programme officer for WACOL, Egodi Blessing Igwe took advantage of the town hall meeting to enumerates some of the achievements of the body since its establishment in 1977.
According to her, the body has renderer assistance to over sixty -two thousand (62,000) vulnerable women and girls who were victims of
sexual and domestic violence .
The support for the victims came in the form of legal aid, mediation services as well as empowerment
programmes.
In her Keynote address, Mrs Hadiza Okunrobo, a lecturer of the Department of Social Services, Faculty of
Law, University of Benin, UNIBEN, delivered a lecture titled; Social Norms and Practices that promotes violence
against women and girls in Edo State.
Some of the norms highlighted includes gender disparity, violence
as a means of correction, female genital mutilation and much more.
Dr Okunrobo enumerated some strategies which could help in curbing the negative norms and practices in our society and how they could be implemented .
Some of the strategies are eradication of the
culture of silence, harmful widowhood practice, child marriage, abusive relationship, institutional support and enforcing laws.
Wacol in Nigeria is dedicated to helping women and young people in need. One of their main aims is to increase legal protection and fight for better choices for abused women and girls .
