Provost alarms about rape, sexual abuse among schoolgirls

Dr. Sule Mandi, the Acting Provost of the FCT College of Education, Zuba, has expressed worry over cases of rape and sexual abuse among schoolgirls while urging the Federal Government to empower institutions to fight the menace.

He said this at a programme organised by

Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), an NGO, to address the prevalence of rape, gender violence in the society in Abuja.

He said, "We are not happy this is happening, and we therefore call on the Federal Government to empower institutions in order to secure the country from sexual abuse of the girl child."

He commended the organizer for coming to expose the students to the opportunities available to understand their rights and the privileges they had to speak out.

He said their coming was to reduce the number of people that would be left behind, adding that education and exposure would help them come out of their ignorance.

He urged the Federal Government to properly empower those institutions with the tools to work, while urging both men and women to dress properly as the appropriate thing to do.

Dr kemi Dasilva-Ibru, founder, WARIF, said the NGO was established to address the prevalence of rape, gender violence on girls and women in the society.

According to her, "in tackling these objectives, we recognize that the education of girls is one that needs attention, so we design and implement programs."

He said the program was for both secondary schools as well as tertiary institutions like the Federal College of Education.

She said it was in partnership with the European Union and the United Nations Spotlight Initiative.

"This is not only related to sexual abuse but also to being able to offer a tangible solution to tackle the problem." "We have come to strengthen existing policies and ensure proper reporting."

Miss Eze Vivian, a student at the Federal College of Education in Zuba, called for increased sensitization of rape victims while also urging them to speak out rather than allow the trauma to linger.

"Although it is very hard to come out because I have experienced something like that but when we come out and speak out, we are helping ourselves and the society.

"Let me use myself as an example; I stayed in the ghetto and know a lot of people who have passed through gender-based violence."

She said if the government would go to the grassroots, speak to them and know their opinion and work with NGO to fight gender violence, the society would be a lot better.

Mr. Damilola Adelusi said this would end all forms of gender-based violence, stressing that this would not be addressed without the support of the government.