Evelyn Maxwell: A Defender of the Vulnerable
Described as a defender of the womenfolk, Evelyn Maxwell, the Executive Director, Centre for Advocacy Against Rape, Molestation, Gender Violence, Child and Drug Abuse (CARA), a non-for-profit organisation, has been on the frontlines fighting the battle for liberation. Violence against women, a global public health concern is a matter of personal interest to Maxwell, a journalist-turned women advocate. In this encounter, she tells Funke Olaode how she leverages her platform to erase the fears of survivors who desire to speak out.
Violence against women has been a front-burner topic and women are the more vulnerable of the traditional gender divide. Worried by the spate at which women are being constantly abused, Evelyn Maxwell steps in; fulfilling her childhood dreams of being a ‘deliverer’ through advocacy.
Mrs. Maxwell, the Executive Director, Center for Advocacy Against Rape, Molestation, Gender Violence, Child and Drug Abuse (CARA), a non-for–profit organisation is an unapologetic women advocate. The Abia State indigene is just determined to make a mark.
Recounting her early years that spurred that sense of responsibility, she said in a recent encounter: “The struggle didn’t start today. As the eldest of six children, my parents bestowed upon me the solemn duty to look after and take care of my siblings which I considered quite unfair but had no choice about. As for my education, I began my schooling in a private school called High Grade Nursery and Primary School located in the Dopemu area of Lagos Mainland then and proceeded to Federal Government Girls College (FGGC) Sagamu, Ogun State where I started and finished my secondary education. I was at Madonna University in Okija, Anambra State where I studied Mass Communication.”
After completing the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Taraba State, she practised as a journalist, writer, presenter and PR Consultant, and today she is an advocate.
Mrs. Maxwell’s CARA has been fighting the battle for liberation for women and girls. Violence against women is a major public health problem and a violation of women’s human rights. According to WHO, estimates indicate that globally about one in three (30%) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.
Most of these abuses are caused by an intimate partner. Globally, almost one-third (27%) of women aged 15-49 years who have been in a relationship report that they have been subjected to some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.
These statistics are worrisome realities for the women folk. Women have always been perceived to be victims of violence and they make up 90 per cent, but men also suffer from domestic violence though many do not file a report because of stereotypes and misplaced beliefs.
“Well, CARA as an organisation is actually not focused only on women. It’s also focused on children, youths and even men to some extent. The issues of child abuse, drug abuse and gender violence which is a general term for rape, molestation, domestic violence and human trafficking are perpetrated by both women and men and both sexes also suffer from them and fall victims, one way or the other.”
CARA, according to the founder, is not one of those NGOs that often spring without a purpose. It is on a mission to draw government and stakeholders’ attention to this pandemic that has eaten deep into the fabric of society. Having experienced a form of attempted sexual assault as a child, she believes the time to speak out is now.
“I was once a victim of attempted sexual assault when I was about 11 years old. Luckily for me, the perpetrator who was a much older uncle didn’t succeed in his intentions and I learnt a very valuable lesson from that ugly incident which helped me become more conscious of the level of evil in the hearts of many so-called family members and family friends while growing up.”
Speaking further on her experience as a 20-year-old then, she recalled how she faced domestic violence in her first romantic relationship.
“I was in love and felt I had to tolerate his emotional abuse when it first started and like everything you permit, it grew into physical abuse. I knew I had to end it and get out of such a toxic relationship if I didn’t want to get killed or kill someone in self-defence. Thank God I did and learnt a very valuable lesson never to permit or tolerate anyone with such tendencies into my space.”
Having grown out of her childhood ordeal she is set out to be a healing balm for victims of violence who need help. Mrs. Maxwell said CARA is a place of hope for the dejected and violated.
Reeling out the organisation’s objectives, she noted that apart from providing succour through strategic interventions and programmes, the NGO is also set out to rehabilitate and empower victims of rape, molestation, gender violence, child abuse and drug abuse.
To take up cases, provide legal support and help victims of gender violence rape, gender domestic violence, rape, molestation, human trafficking and child abuse are part of her goals.
While collaboration with lawmakers and policymakers at all levels is in the pipeline to protect the vulnerable and ensure that perpetrators are punished, Mrs. Maxwell said she will also intensify the awareness campaigns.
Mrs. Maxwell is gradually fulfilling her dreams as she navigates through a life of advocacy.
“I am fulfilling my childhood dreams. As a child, I aspired to become the first female president of Nigeria and to somehow be in a position where I would provide housing for all the homeless people in the world because I couldn’t understand why anybody would be homeless in my baby’s mind.”
It is not a misstep that CARA has carried it upon itself to help build shelters that will temporally accommodate survivors and potential victims of all forms of gender violence especially domestic violence, rape and sexual assault.
“This particular objective is very dear to my heart because it is something the entire continent of Africa lacks. Many women who have lost their lives to domestic violence would have lived if they knew there is a place or city nearby where they could leave their unsafe space and cool off to plan their lives for a few days without inconveniencing anyone or worrying about where to get money to cover for accommodation.”
Creation of scholarships, job opportunities and empowerment of women through small-scale business opportunities to enable them to keep their children in school is one of the objectives of CARA.
Violence against women has been an ongoing debate. But the issue of rape remains a stigma as victims don’t often come out openly. While the organisation respects the individuals’ right to privacy, the idea of staying silent can embolden perpetrators to continue with the crime.
“In the first place, there shouldn’t be any debate about Violence against Women (VAW) or Violence Against Children (VAC) or in fact, violence against anybody for that matter in a sane civil society. The very fact that there is even a debate about this clearly depicts the high level of social-cultural deficiency in the society and the humongous work on awareness and enlightenment that must be done.
“That again is a big indictment on our collective humanity as a society. It goes to show that the majority of our people, including many educated ones, are neck-deep in abysmal ignorance and it is one of our major objectives as an organisation to rid our people of such ignorance.
“A rape victim should never have to worry about stigmatisation; a crime was committed against her and the criminal who committed the crime should be the one worrying about stigmatisation not the victim of the crime. A rape victim is duty-bound to speak out for proper healing to take place and to prevent the perpetrators from making more victims. If people around a rape victim are foolish to the extent of stigmatising her, that should not be the victim’s problem.”
On the issue of drug abuse among youths, she said that the vice is at a pandemic level.
“Simply put, Nigeria is currently sitting on a nuclear time bomb on this issue of drug abuse. Children as little as primary school children are being exposed to different types of hard drugs as we speak and if that does not spell doom for the collective future of the country what else would?
“CARA as an organisation has created many innovative projects to tackle the issue of drug abuse in Nigeria effectively and save our collective future, but all of these wonderful projects need a lot of funds for them to function at all let alone function properly. The truth is without proper funding to combat and tackle the menace of drug abuse in Nigeria today, the situation will only get worse. Moreso, the kind of funding needed has to be a collective and deliberate one from all stakeholders from government at all levels to all corporate entities and well-to-do individuals in society.”
Her organisation recently launched a multi-pronged project titled War Against Gender Violence Child Abuse and Drug Abuse in Africa (WAGCDA) to tackle drug abuse among other issues.
“With the hope of getting support and funding, we need from all relevant entities especially from corporate bodies, companies and international institutions to make the project a success,” she said.
The idea behind WAGCDA is to wage a strategic war against these issues from all angles starting with a very strong massive awareness campaign to therapy, rescue and empowerment programmes.
She might have stepped out of her comfort zone quite late but her commitment is paying off as many people believe in her vision and mission. On October 27, 2022, prominent Nigerians from all walks of life will converge on Lagos Continental Hotel, Lagos for a conference being organised by CARA.
Themed: ‘How corporate bodies can curb the surge of gender violence, child abuse and drug abuse in Africa,’ the conference will bring together corporate, business, political and diplomatic leaders in Nigeria and across Africa under one roof to discuss and share ideas on the roles corporate bodies in Africa play in the collective good of a people and save the future of the youths and the vulnerable.
“This conference can be described as the single most important conference in Nigeria and indeed Africa in 2022 due to its continental importance to the collective good of the people of Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”
She continued: “The conference will enable our great corporate and business leaders to understand the issues of gender violence, child abuse and drug abuse better and see how much power and control they truly have to turn the tides and save Nigeria and Africa in general from the impending doom that is lurking by the corner if these issues are not tackled now.
“This conference is in fact part of our bigger strategic ‘Project War Against Gender Violence, Child Abuse and Drug Abuse in Africa’ mentioned earlier. We arrived at the need for a conference of this magnitude when all our studies showed that without an event in Africa the issues of gender violence and drug abuse especially cannot be solved. We have played lip service to these issues as a country and continent for far too long and see where it has gotten us. The time, therefore, has come for action: it is time to stand up or shut up as a corporate, business, diplomatic or political leader in Africa.
“It is time to let the youths, women and children see and hear who truly cares about them. It’s time to know which company, organisation and diplomatic mission truly care about the future of Nigeria and Africa as a whole. It will show the world how ready and committed our corporate leaders in the private and public sectors, in business and politics are to solving the issues that threaten our collective wellbeing and future. It is going to be a historic event that will have a far-reaching impact across Africa for many years and generations to come.”
For Mrs. Maxwell, that time is now for the government and stakeholders to wake up to their responsibility.
“Continuous engagement will take us to the promised land. Government at all levels and all stakeholders which includes every single local and international organisation, companies, foreign missions and embassies operating in Nigeria must be engaged constantly to wake them up to their responsibilities with regards to the issues.”
For a course that is dear to her heart, Mrs. Maxwell is ready to pull all stops to achieve her dreams. But the impediment is funding. “The only major challenge I see running the organisation is funding. Funding for our various initiatives, programmes and general running cost is my biggest challenge. So far, our funding has come from my personal purse, that of my husband and very few patrons. As a matter of fact, right now we need a lot of help and support from all stakeholders because we need billions of Naira and millions of dollars to properly carry out our programmes.”
