FCT Top Dashboard in Recent Ranking on GBV Reporting- Official

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Mandate Secretary for Women and Children Affairs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mrs Adedayo Bejamins-Laniyi, has disclosed that FCT has emerged winner in a recent ranking of states on Gender Based Violence (GBV) as the best reporting state.

Benjamins-Laniyi made this known during a meeting with newsmen to mark 100 days in office on Thursday in Abuja.

“ My first public outing in the Secretariat was a grand Gender-Based Violence (BGV) Sensitization programme for wives of Chiefs and Area Council Chairmen in FCT.

“ The programme, which was co-hosted by the Social Development Secretariat and Women Affairs Secretariat, focused on a special trajectory of using data reporting to curb GBV in FCT.

“ Participants at the programme were taken through rounds of lectures which built their capacity for data reporting on the National GBV Dashboard. Participants at the sensitization programme went home with renewed consciousness on the dangers of GBV menace in the family and society, and the need to join forces with the government to eliminate such vice in the Federal Capital Territory.

“ The impact of the GBV awareness campaign was an unprecedented upsurge in data reporting of GBV cases in the Federal Capital Territory. Consequently, in a recent ranking of States on GBV reporting on the National Dashboard by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, FCT emerged winner, as best reporting State on GBV, courtesy of the strategic approach to GBV reporting by the Women Affairs Secretariat under my watch.”

She however admitted that there are still challenges in reporting incidences of ‘One Chance’ and children abduction.

She however restates her commitment to deliver her duties effectively, saying, “ I report at the office. I supervise when I come in. I am with them, not just earshot. I am following through. I work on my files myself. Every case of adoption for the moments I’ve put on hold on till we have a total review, like I stated of our child adoption, and other social welfare related interfaces, just to make sure we have due process and due diligence, implemented.

“ Now coming to the cases that you think need review, please bring them to me, outline them, and let’s have them so that we can work with them in the office based on the history because what you’re talking about is a history of cases. And that is why when I started this assignment for 16 days of activism, I started with the media.

“ My first appeal was to the media, to please work with me, to please network with me, and to let them understand. This is not about like I said, it’s not a media circus. But people will come to you, people come to your programmes. People talk to you before they talk to anybody else. And we want to be able to engage with them through you, but without bringing stigma or embarrassment to them or the communities around them so we don’t lose a critical connection.” She said.