A group, Female Cultural Influencers, has called for intensified grassroots awareness campaigns to end gender-based violence in Osun State.
The group made the call on Thursday in Osogbo while sensitising members of the ‘Peers of Heaven’ group, otherwise known in Yoruba as ‘Emere’, on the need to guard against gender-based violence.
Speaking during the one-day campaign sponsored by ActionAid Nigeria, one of the cultural influencers, Mrs. Mofoluwake Atanda, said it was time for women, men and children to be educated on the dangers of gender-based violence and the channels available for reporting cases.
“It is high time we put a stop to gender-based violence. I think we should start with awareness. We should let people know the danger of this gender-based violence. It is becoming rampant in our environment, where you see women dying in silence out of shame and stigma,” Mrs. Atanda said.
The influencer ,who said the group had earlier visited some markets for sensitisation, noted that the impact of violence extends beyond victims to children who grow up in abusive homes.
“It is beginning to affect our children because you would not bring up a child in the right way if you live under these conditions. Such children will come back tomorrow to be a nuisance in the environment,” she added.
Another influencer, Mrs. Egbebunmi Oguntimilehin, acknowledged government efforts but said awareness has not reached the grassroots. She cited the Violence Against Persons Prohibition, VAPP Law, which has existed in Osun since 2018, as an example of existing legal protection that many residents do not know about.
“The government is doing enough. I think the problem is that awareness is not enough. As far back as 2018, there was already an existing law called the VAPP law in Osun State. But it is surprising that even when you mention the VAPP law to some people, they will ask you what the VAPP law is,” Mrs. Oguntimilehin said.
The cultural influencers urged government, NGOs and community leaders to take enlightenment to markets, schools and rural areas so that victims know where to report cases.
“Some don’t even know that there are channels where you can go to report cases, and we keep hearing these cases every now and then. So the government is doing enough, but I think the awareness is not well circulated in the community,” they concluded.
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In her remarks, the General Overseer of Emere Onitesiwaju Group, Mrs. Oyelola Elebuibon, urged victims of gender-based violence to speak out, advising that it is better to leave a toxic relationship than stay and lose one’s life.
Mrs. Elebuibon, wife of Osogbo-based Ifa priest, Ifayemi Elebuibon, while appreciating the female cultural influencers, said the campaign would give women, whom she described as major victims of gender-based violence, the courage to speak up.
“For too long, a lot of people have suffered in silence, but the lecture today has opened our eyes and given us a voice. This sensitisation has done a lot for us because now we know that there is a law protecting us. To be honest, before today, most of us did not even know what the VAPP law was, or that there are channels where we can report cases without fear,” she said.
