An expert on gender-based violence (GBV), Prof. Rabiu Abdulsalam, has reiterated the importance of the community’s participation in addressing GBV issues in Katsina.
Abdulsalam said this on Sunday in Kaita Local Government Area (LGA) of the state at the training of lay counselors on providing mental health psychosocial support (MHPSS) to survivors of GBV.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise also entailed sensitization of men and boys to harmful social norms.
The training was organised by the Bridge That Gap (BTG) initiative, a non-governmental organization (NGO) implementing for UN women under the PeaceBuilding Fund (PBF) project.
According to Abdulsalam, the involvement of community, religious, and traditional leaders in addressing the issue was important.
He explained that the training and sensitization of the lay counselors were part of an effort to engage them in tackling the issues of GBV in their communities.
He explained that the aim was to engage people within communities to be able to address such issues and be able to provide help for their people.
“That’s another reason for the engagement of these lay counselors, bringing solutions down to the grassroots without going far or seeking help.
“If these people are able to handle issues of GBV within their communities, there will be no need to start going to the police or relevant authorities.
“Because it’s worrisome that sometimes suspects in GBV cases end up being freed without serious punishment.
“But if the entire community can join hands together, they would be able to reduce the issues to the barest minimum within them,” he said.
According to him, lay counselors should be able to sensitise their community to understand the GBV and also to know all the preventive measures.
He told the lay counselors to ensure the provision of necessary care for the survivors of GBV instead of pushing them away from the community.
Also, the coordinator of the Katsina State GBV Center, Hajiya Rabi Muhammad, said that the state government established the centre purposefully to address GBV issues.
She disclosed that the centre had resolved lots of GBV cases since its inauguration and also repatriated some survivors to their states of origin.
Similarly, Mr. Jonah Yahaya, the programme coordinator of the BTG initiative, said the exercise was a pilot project being carried out in Kaduna and Katsina, where Kaita and Faskari LGAs were selected from Katsina.
Some of the participants attributed the rampant cases of GBV to non-community participation, poverty, illiteracy, a lack of sensitization, and drug abuse. (NAN)
