Gender Based Violence, Gender Violence and Human Rights, Press Conference

PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE NEED TO ADDRESS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN KANO STATE BY THE CENTRE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (CITAD) ON THE 10TH OF MARCH, 2022

Ladies and gentlemen, the Executive Director, I and the entire GBV Project Team are very pleased to welcome you to our February Edition press conference. Based on our regular data analysis, and in line with our forward guidance, our monthly press conference continues report data collected on our GBV Mobile App.
The Data Collection strategies we apply are as follows:
1. The use of CITAD GBV App for people to report incidences. The App is available on Play Store
for Android and IOS. It can be downloaded by anyone and cases can be reported anonymously.

2. The use of monitors in tertiary institutions in the state as well as within communities.
3. Cooperation and sharing of data with various agencies in obtaining data and working hand-in-
hand to curb GBV.
4. Sensitization activities and awareness creation by trained champions within the communities.
Also, to provide a safe space for young girls to report cases and threat as well learn how to protect
themselves at the same time have opportunity for personalized counselling to deal with the trauma.
We have set up two safe-spaces for learning and creativity in some schools that are to serve a cluster
11 schools where we hold ICT Classes to enable the students have the required basic skills to operate
computers, monitor and report GBV cases within the school environment. We have also positioned a
number of highly accomplished women professional as mentors who are available both on-site and
off-site to listen to the girls and other victims for counselling and support to overcome the trauma.
We will now report on the outcome of our monthly monitoring activities of Gender Based Violence. As
usual, let me start with the Data Presentation.

The table below shows data collected for the month of February 2022:

The data above depicts the persistent occurrence of Gender-Based Violence, most especially the high
number of sexual harassments. The cases of Rape, and other GBV, even though under-reported still
calls for action.
In comparison with the data obtained in previous months, GBV cases are still being perpetrated. 15
cases were reported via our GBV App for the month which includes Rape, Sexual Harassment, Wife
Battering and others.
It is in view of this that we urge the state government to adopt laws to protect women and girls, and
as well establish Referral Centers and Forensic Centers for victims.
We would like to commend the efforts of our traditional and religious leaders and all stakeholders in
intensifying their effort to create awareness against GBV.
While we continue to monitor, we will like to appeal to parents, relatives and others to always report
cases to the various to either directly to us or to other sister NGOs as well as to government agencies
such as National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nigerian
Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In
Persons (NAPTIP) or Hisbah. GBV strives when we all keep quiet. We cannot win the battle against it
unless every perpetrator is brought to the books.
Keeping silent will not protect the victims who suffer. It encourages the perpetrators to take this
silence as a stamp of acceptability.
We are now at your disposal for questions.

Zainab Aminu 
Gender Project Program Officer

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