Tabitha Empowerment Center set to launch Anti Gender-Based Violence Project “DEAR TEC”

Foremost Non-Governmental Organisation, Tabitha Empowerment Centre, has reaffirmed its commitment to eradicating all forms of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) by responding to the growing need for precise guidelines on how to practically and ethically monitor and mitigate cases of gender-based violence among women and young girls in the country.

The organisation said it is set to bring succour to survivors and victims of Gender-Based Violence, GBV, through its project, DEAR TEC, by reaching out to women and young girls.

Programmes Coordinator and in-house Lawyer of Tabitha Empowerment Centre, Barr. Gladys Emmanuel, disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja while briefing them on the official launch date of the project.

She said the project, which is scheduled to begin on December 2, 2023, aims to break the culture of silence that has kept many women under the bondage of sexual and domestic violence and to support marginalized adolescent girls who are 12 years of age or older in rural communities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to be better informed on gender-based violence and linked to multi-sectoral response services.

Her words, “DEAR TEC was born out of the desire to break the culture of silence that is very prevalent especially in some of our supported communities. The project seeks to redefine the use of social media by creating a virtual network of advocates who will speak and act strongly against the surge of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the society, as well as provide expert responses to concerns and queries raised by members of the public.

“Through this project, we aim to provide confidentiality for individuals, especially victims of GBV and also to signpost these individuals to various support services, all to be done from the comfort of their homes or the use of their mobile devices.

“Our target for this project is females from ages 12 to 60+. Recent statistics and studies have shown that Nigeria has a large number of internet users, and we want to push our anti-gender-based violence message via social media. So, for the purpose of this project, we will be leveraging Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, emails, and designated WhatsApp handles, which will be unveiled in the course of the project.

“The project is structured in a way that would allow for questions to come in; we’ll give room for members of the public to respond to those questions, then we provide the expert responses. That way, we’ll be able to quash negative ideologies that surround the issue of Sexual and Gender Based Violence,” Barr. Emmanuel explained.

She further noted that the organisation has embarked on massive sensitization on how to reverse the trend of Sexual and Gender Based Violence, adding that violence against women and girls impedes their full participation in society, limits access to education and economic participation, and hinders efforts to achieve gender equality broadly.

“It’s been evident that there was a need for a project of this nature to cater for the need to provide enlightenment awareness on the issue of GBV. Our anti-gender-based campaign required us to visit schools and communities, where we discovered that people were reluctant to speak about their experiences for fear of being stigmatized or even ostracized. However, they were more confident in speaking to us when there was a more confidential meeting. So, it occurred to us that we needed to provide a platform that is not bound or limited by location, language, gender, or level of exposure. So long as you are able to use social media, you will be able to access this service,” she said.

Among the several actions taken by Tabitha Empowerment Centre to drive home its anti-gender-based campaign were awareness outreaches across seven (7) schools in the FCT, as well as media engagements and partnerships with other Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and gender sector working groups.

Meanwhile, the Founder and Executive Director of Tabitha Empowerment Centre, Mrs. Christina Uzo-Okamgba (AFP, FIL) expressed optimism that the DEAR TEC Project would be a key component of initiatives to address and end the underlying causes of sexual and gender-based violence.

“We are hopeful that there will be a gradual shift in the attitudes of individuals towards reporting cases or accessing support services, thus leading to a dismantling of the prevalent culture of silence that has confronted victims and survivors of SGBV.

“Also, we believe it will spark a sense of commitment amongst traditional gatekeepers and members of the public for the advancement of the rights of women and children. This will also lead to the creation of a group of virtual advocates, irrespective of their geographical location, for the purpose of speaking up against issues of SGBV. We are confident that this project would foster speedy referral to service providers of persons requiring access to justice, rehabilitation/psychosocial support, medical aid, safe spaces, and other welfare services.

“We are aware that issues of patriarchy, harmful cultural practices, and illiteracy are some of the root causes of GBV. Leveraging the DEAR TEC project, the major objective of this project is to foster public enlightenment. It will amaze you that not many people in the country are aware of the various laws and structures available to tackle GBV. For some, they are unknowingly being abused. Others indirectly uphold and foster the tenets of GBV without knowing.

“All these, the DEAR TEC project is out to curb, thereby providing more relevant information to members of the public and leading to a gradual change in mindset. The project is out to quash negative ideologies that fuel toxic masculinity and inequalities through the provision of expert responses tailored to address each concern as raised by members of the public. Another unique impact of this project is that it is not bound by geographical location; thus, persons from any part of the globe are able to utilise this to enhance their knowledge of SGBV,” Uzo-Okamgba noted.