The workshop on Gender-Based Violence was organized by the CRUDAN northwest zone, assisted by the zonal committee and the Director of programmes from the headquarters in Jos, Plateau state. The training brought together participants from different organizations such as CBOs, FBOs, CSOs etc.
- Rationale
The Christian Rural and Urban Development Association of Nigeria (CRUDAN) has been working with church leaders within and outside Nigeria to promote Wholistic ministry in the country, and other organizations that are engaged in development or interested in development work to see the growth of human society as it were. In reality, the socio-economic and political sphere has had its own share of neglect which as a result gave escalation to a social evil called Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Northern Nigeria. Therefore, CRUDAN North West decided to target Dutse in Jigawa State Nigeria because of the high rate of Gender-Based Violence in that part of the country.
- Aims and Objectives
The main aim of the workshop was to
- Increase the knowledge base of participants on GBV issues
- Develop an implementable action plan at the end of the workshop
The workshop focused on adult learning methodologies that were very engaging and enabled participants to learn and acquire knowledge, skills, and attitude. These methods are; group work and plenary discussions, role play and brainstorming sessions, and questions & answers.
The participants were mostly leaders drawn from Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa states. These leaders were from NGOs, CSO, and the media.
Resource persons
There were two resource persons, The lead facilitator Mr. James Obadiah — Program Officer, CRUDAN North West Zone of Nigeria, and Engr. Victor Dilli, North West support facilitator.
The workshop took place in Dutse, Jigawa state at the B. Nakowa modern guest lodge conference hall, Dutse, Jigawa State.
Introduction to Gender concept
GENDER VS SEX
The narrative points to the fact that gender refers to the particular roles and relationships, personality traits, attitudes, behaviors, and values that society ascribes to men and women.
Gender, therefore, refers to learned differences between men and women while sex refers to the biological differences between males and females.
Gender roles vary widely within and across cultures and can change over time. Gender refers not simply to women or men but surprisingly, to the power relationship between them.
In the concept of gender, therefore, we understand femininity, masculinity and gender to be socially constructed and hence changeable. This means that our assumptions about what it means to be a boy or a girl are guided by historical and social relations which influenced the beliefs and practices that come to be taken for granted and understood as true, fixed, and unchanging.
GENDER ROLES VS SEX ROLES
| GENDER ROLES | SEX ROLES |
| Housekeeping | pregnancy |
| Farming | Insemination |
| Politics | Breastfeeding |
| Building | Carrying heavy stuff |
| Engineering | |
| Cooking | |
| Childcare | |
| Soldiering |
The facilitator highlighted some obvious terms in gender-based violence such as:-
- The violence that targets individuals or groups on the basis of their sex
- Similar terms such as GBV, SGBV, VAW, and VAWG
In conclusion, the facts were on the participants that violence is a means of control and oppression which includes emotional and social-economic force, coercion or pressure as well as physical harm. Such terms as covet and overt were explained by the facilitator. Furthermore, five types of gender-based violence were identified.
- Sexual violence
- Physical violence
- Emotional and Psychological violence
- Harmful traditional practices
- Socio-Economic violence
Concept of Do No Harm
The concept of Do No Ham was presented by the facilitator. He presented slides showing the objectives and principles of Do No Harm.
“Do No Harm is to avoid exposing people to additional risk through our actions.
Meaning, taking a step back from an intervention to look at the broader context and mitigate potential negative effects on the social fabric, the economy, and the environment.
The facilitator pointed out the essence of Do no harm model and what it so means to us as actors of humanitarian agents. This model put it that the actions and behaviors of humanitarian actors have consequences on the individuals and group dynamics and context in which humanitarian assistance is being provided
SIX LESSONS OF DO NO HARM
Based on collective experience, the following six lessons were seen to be universal and which is key to all organizations.
- When an intervention of any kind enters a context, it becomes part of that context
- All contexts are characterized by Dividers and Connectors
- All interventions will interact with both Dividers and Connectors making them better or worse.
- Interventions interact with Dividers and Connectors through their organizational actions and the behaviors of staff.
- The details of an intervention are the source of its impact
- There are always options
To conclude, it was pointed out that applying Do No Harm helps organizations to become more effective, accountable, and efficient.
General understanding of Gender-Based Violence.
The facilitator introduced the session by presenting the aim and objectives and asked the participants to define and come up with views on the conceptual definition and what is obtainable in their various communities.
The facilitator spoke on “the consequences of gender-based violence as it’s related not only to women and men. Four major consequences were identified.
- Health
- Emotional, social, and psychological
- Community and physical safety and security
- Legal/justice system.
The system that is today in our country Nigeria does not take serious issues of gender-based violence and as such the perpetrators walk freely on our streets today why? The issue of weak justice system was emphasized and one of the participants, a lawyer encouraged the people that issues of gender have been taken seriously now while giving an example of a boy who had just been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.
Hajia Aishath Debola, the country rep of new faces new voices addressed the issue of “what needs to be done, appropriate solutions “. In her submission, She said GBV is a widespread societal phenomenon highlighting the vulnerability of the youths regardless of where they are. Six out of ten cases of sexual violence occur in the homes of relatives or friends and there are also attacks on the streets, in schools, and in workplaces. She opined that people should be made aware that perpetrating violence to any Nigerian youth (up to 18 years) either generally or gender-based, is a criminal offense.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
- Government should see the importance of partnering with civil society organizations. The civil society has a closer relationship with the communities and can work closely to implement the developed action plan, not only to reduce the burden and consequences of GBV in Nigeria but also, and importantly, to curb their occurrences
- Inculcating in our youths a sense of purposeful life, having clearly defined personal, professional and spiritual goals and the commitment to act on them,
- Individuals whose life is driven by goals, assign a clear meaning to their lives and discover how such focus brings lasting fulfillment. She said this project should have a constant and never-ending improvement. Only by this, we achieve the set objectives
- Youths should be fully consulted and associated at each phase of our search for lasting solutions.
The consequences of GBV include
- Aids
- Poverty
- Shame
- Anger
- Confusion and distress
- Economic abuse
- Fear and
- Depression etc.
The current statistics on gender and political representation in Nigeria, women are only given 7% of UN women (2014)
One of the participants, a lawyer, said that women are more intelligent than men in cases but are not given the opportunity to exercise their rights. Looking at the constitution (1999) he said the gap is so huge that you really can imagine what was going on in their minds. He brought the issues under the penal code existing in the North while the criminal code existed in the East. He said the treatment is not the same?
Human Rights and Gender
Thoughts?
- How do we give value to people?
- How can we stop undermining ourselves and each other?
- What is the value of Nigerian life?
In conclusion, the facilitator admonishes all participants to know their right by speaking for any injustices going on not only with them but also with others that cannot speak for themselves
