HACEY Health Initiative Champions Fight against Gender-based Violence in Nigeria

Hacey Health has taken the bulls by the horns as it champions the fight against gender-based violence which threatens the health, productivity and right of women and girls in Nigeria. In order to achieve this, Hacey Health implemented strategic activities during the global 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

During the campaign, which kicked off on the 25th of November till the 10th of December, it was revealed that GBV cases are not only restricted to domestic violence alone but any form of abuse or ill-treatment against women; which may be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological.

According to United Nations report, over 35 percent of women all around the world experience one form of violence or the other in their lifetime. GBV manifests as homicide, child marriage, forced abortion, rape, sexual harassment and assault, female genital mutilation and human trafficking and the likes.

As part of HACEY health initiative’s commitment to the welfare of women and girls, the organization participated in a two-week long campaign with a vision to create a healthy and sustainable society and to create platforms for people to understand how to prevent, report and manage GBV cases in Nigeria.

“Some of the highlights of the campaign were; international day for elimination of violence against women (VAW) set to educate Nigerians on the effects of GBV on women, girls and society at large; the possible control measures and support services via the organization’s platforms, ” Director, Gender and development programs, Rhoda Rhobinson noted.

The two-week long campaign also had a very engaging Twitter discussion on Rape and Consent. One of which has been a topic and issue for concern lately in the society

“We believe that consent is a necessity in all relationships, assumptions can be highly costly and criminal so we must all be aware in order to ensure that we are not violating the right of anyone in our society’.

Others programs were, a Safe Space Program for Female Secondary School Students – the programme was based on providing information on Sexual and Reproductive and Health rights of girls, career and leadership counselling in a non judgemental environment. students also had the opportunity to learn different things about leadership through games.

Another notable event held by Hacey Health was the 1st December, 2017 World Aids Day where the social media was deployed to distribute materials, educate and sensitize people on the mode of transmission, preventive measures, treatments and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS and the ripple effect of GBV on HIV incidence. Furthermore, various legal, medical and counseling support platforms were listed for reporting, support and rapid assistance to survivors or witnesses. Example is the mysalvus.org platform launched by hacey health initiative few months ago.

The 2-week long event wouldn’t have been complete without side attractions as the organizers ensured that their audience had fun with events such as a Selfie Competition and Photo Booth Session where participants won movie tickets and t-shirts.