The Kaduna State Government has stated that it is collaborating with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and other development organizations to eradicate Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the state.
Mr Salisu Baba, State Director, Development Aid Coordination, Planning, and Budget Commission, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, on the sidelines of a five-day workshop for health and social workers in Kaduna.
According to Baba, the training exercise centered on mental and psycho-social support for GBV survivors.
He stated that the training, which was funded by UNFPA, was the second in a series aimed at increasing the capacity of health and social workers to provide psychosocial first aid and counselling to GBV survivors.
It is also intended to improve the ability of social workers in the Ministry of Human Services, Social Development, and Sexual Assault Referral Centres to adequately support survivors.
“Given the state’s high rate of GBV, this is timely.”
“With UNFPA support, we are doing everything we can to end the social menace of GBV through a multisectoral approach involving the police, judiciary, and other relevant agencies,” he said.
Mrs Hafsat Kagara, UNFPA’s Right Based Approach Specialist, Kaduna Decentralised Sub-Office, also spoke, stating that the goal was for participants to understand the concept of GBV survivors’ mental wellbeing and how to address it.
“We want officials to have a basic understanding of psychosocial first aid and basic counselling skills for GBV survivors.”
“This is a train the trainers program,” she explained, “because the participants are expected to train others.”
Kagara praised the Kaduna State Government for its political will and for creating an enabling environment for development partners and stakeholders to join in the GBV response.
Prof. Hauwa Yusuf, one of the resource persons, stated that the participants were carefully chosen, particularly those with firsthand knowledge of GBV survivors.
Yusuf stated that the training would improve their ability to handle and counsel survivors, and that the GBV response had been a huge success because many people now know they can report, support, and get justice.
“This is possible because we have a government that is against GBV and is working hard to bring perpetrators to justice,” Yusuf explained.