Gender-based violence is a pervasive and insidious issue that affects individuals across the globe. From physical assault and harassment to emotional abuse and economic exploitation, this form of violence takes many forms and impacts people of all ages, races, and genders — particularly women.
In the United States, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner, equating to about 10 million women each year, while in Canada, it is estimated that women are 11 times more likely than men to experience sexual violence. In South Africa, it is estimated that one in five women will experience rape or attempted rape in their lifetime.
According to a statement, bringing it home, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) posits that in Nigeria, almost one in three (31%) women aged 15- 49 have experienced physical violence in Nigeria. Furthermore, one in four girls, including very young ones, experience sexual violence.
These statistics show that gender-based violence is not a country-specific problem. Though a global issue, small wins could lead to the desired change. This is why Africa’s leading financial institution — Access Bank — in an attempt to eradicate the prevalence of gender-based violence in Nigeria, partnered with HACEY Health Initiative on a program tagged “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.”
The annual international campaign was aimed at raising awareness on preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls. It kicked off on November 25th — the day celebrating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women— and ran until December 10th —Human Rights Day.
“The plethora of programmes for the 16 Days of Activism included: The launch of the End Rape Culture website to promote positive messages and stories and encourage survivors to report and increase awareness; a Kick-out Gender-Based Violence Campaign targeted at game lovers and using the launch of a football game as a springboard to generate discussions on ending gender-based violence; online summits and exhibitions, including a webinar on the challenges and opportunities to leverage innovation and technology to end gender-based violence; media rounds aimed at raising awareness on different forms of violence against women and girls,” the statement added.
The end rape culture exhibition had 402 participants, while the end rape culture and gender-based violence webinar had 319 participants. The game competition designed to engage young men in ending rape culture directly reached 297 young men, and the whole campaign reached 205,000 people via social media, and an expose on the subject was aired on Arise TV.
This year, Access Bank is organising yet another edition of its annual International Women’s Day Conference, scheduled for the 23rd of March, 2023. Through the conference, the Bank will aim to challenge gender stereotypes and elaborately discuss issues around discrimination while championing the call for society to #EmbraceEquity.
The conference would feature a seasoned crop of contributors, including Dame Pauline Tallen, Nigeria’s Minister for Women Affairs; Dotun Akande (ACAS), Founder and Director of Patrick Speech and Languages Centre; Stephanie Busari, Head, Nigeria Bureau at CNN; Yewande Kazeem, Founder Wandieville; Flt Lt. Kafayat Omolara Sanni, the first female fighter pilot in Nigeria; seasoned actor, Richard Mofe-Damijo and more.
