By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – FIDA Nigeria in collaboration with Palladium under the SCALE (Strengthening Civil Advocacy & Local Engagement) Project which is being supported by USAID is strengthening the capacity of fifty (50) traditional and faith Leaders on SGBV, CEFM & CTIP prevention and response strategies across twenty-four (24) local communities in six states where these issues are prevalent.
In a statement by her Programme Manager, Mr Fikih Obaro, he stated that these trainings will hold in the month of May 2022 in Delta and the Federal Capital Territory and is meant to increase gender-sensitive information and awareness-raising on the menace because Traditional and Faith Leaders are uniquely placed to prevent SGBV & CEFM where they are domiciled, given their understanding of the local context, and having native knowledge of predisposing factors & practices that encourage and allow SGBV, CEFM, and TIP to thrive.
These 24 communities cut across six states namely Delta, Bauchi, Katsina, Ebonyi, Federal Capital Territory and Osun States respectively.
This was contained in a statement signed by FIDA Vice President/National President, Amina Suzannah Agbaje (Mrs) made available to Sundiata Post in Abuja on Thursday.
According to the statement, It is expected that at the end of this training workshop, traditional and Faith Leaders will be well equipped to serve as advocates and paralegals which will transcend in the development of bye laws in preventing this menace.
Furthermore, they will be able to institutionalize and establish coordinated response and referral pathways in tandem with Law Enforcement agencies towards ensuring arrests and prosecution of perpetrators of these crimes, while working with state actors to create a gender sensitive and protective environment for survivors, the statement added.