The Bauchi state government has begun a six-month Gender-Based Violence (GBV) awareness creation programme to address the menace.
The project, targeting Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) is being implemented through the Ministry of Women Affairs in collaboration with the Bauchi State High Court, Bauchi State Agency for Persons with Disabilities, and the Ikra Foundation for Women and Youth Development (IFYWD).
Mrs Amina Garuba, a representative of the Bauchi State High Court, said this at the inauguration of the programme, on Wednesday in Bauchi.
She said the project was designed to create public awareness on GBV, with specific focus on persons with disabilities and strengthen partnerships with PWD groups in the state.
Garuba said the project teams visited PWD cluster groups, umbrella associations, community settlements and leprosy settlements, where audiovisual materials were displayed and posters distributed for wider dissemination.
“GBV-inclusive information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials were produced and distributed to all six disability groups to sensitise them on preventive measures against GBV,” she said.
She said the initiative is being supported by ActionAid Nigeria under its Mapping Gender-Based Violence (MAP-GBV) Project, to address unique ways persons with disabilities experience GBV.
Mrs Sylvia Abah, Deputy Director, Bauchi State Agency for Persons with Disabilities, said the intervention was designed to analyse GBV from the perspective of persons with disabilities.
She said the project focused on GBV in relationships, healthcare and fertility-related abuse, risks associated with uncompleted buildings, exclusion from education and child labour.
Also, Aliyu Ahmed, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development, said the project would deepen GBV participation and campaigns at all levels.
He said the project prioritised stakeholders’ mapping to achieve the set goals with timely dispensation of justice against perpetrators.
Ahmed said referral pathways and channels of communication has been deployed to the 20 local government areas of the state.
On communication, Huzaifa Abubakar, Programme Officer, Ikra Foundation, said the project adopted inclusive and accessible strategies to address the gaps.
According to Abubakar, the strategies include the application of simple and appropriate language, elimination of stereotypes and tailoring messages to different categories of disabilities.
Also, Abubakar Abdullahi, Organising Secretary, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JNAPWD) in the state, lauded the initiative.
He pledged support to the campaign to ensure effective dissemination of key messages at the grassroots.
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