The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has kicked off this year’s campaign against Gender-Based Violence with a sensitization lecture on reporting and identifying GBV cases to the students of Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano.
The 16-day campaign on the international day for elimination of Violence against women and girls is an annual event aimed at addressing the menace of violence against women and girls across the globe.
Addressing journalists at the lecture, CITAD gender officer explained that the event was to create awareness on the need for citizens to always speak against Sexual and Gender-based violence.
Zainab Aminu, appealed to Nigerians to expose the perpetrators of violence against women and the girl-child.
Presenting a paper on reporting and identifying gender based violence, Director Center for Gender Studies, Bayero University Kano, Dr. Suwaiba Saidu Ahmed identified poverty, hunger, harmful cultural practices, female genital mutilation, war and conflict as some of the major catalysts to gender based violence.
According to her, gender based violence refers to violence directed to a person based on gender, saying that the menace is becoming rampant in the society.
The director stressed that legislation, education, information dissemination, identifying root cases of societal problems, supporting for victims, women empowerment and zero tolerance to GBV, as some of the ways of mitigating the problem.
She charged the government, and relevant stakeholders to treat gender based violence as a public health issue, by establishing centers to treat and counsel victims.
“We should engage in activities that would stop GBV to ensure a safer society”
