Religious and traditional leaders support end to gender-based violence during Spotlight Initiative summit in Abuja

ABUJA, Nigeria- Critical stakeholders and partners added their voices to the call to End Gender-based Violence and other harmful practices at the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative Summit for Religious and Traditional Leaders that held on September 7-8 in Abuja.

Held in conjunction with the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development, EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, with support from UNFPA, recommendations from the 2-day event included a 9-Point Call to Action and a 4-point Call to Government on ending GBV in communities.

With the theme Moving from Awareness to Taking Action, the summit also featured insights and discussions on the root causes and solutions to ending GBV during presentations from the panelists drawn from women groups, NGOs and members of the academia.

His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, said women should be respected and protected, and that government should ensure that those who perpetuated violence were given stiffer penalties by the law. Other panelists such as the Deputy UN Deputy Secretary General Mrs Amina Mohammed; Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), represented by Minister of Women Affairs Dame Pauline Tallen and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Rev. Samson Ayokunle, urged an end to violence against women and girls, insisting it was the only way Nigeria would make any meaningful progress in the area of development and gender equality.

In her welcome address, UNFPA Resident Representative Ms. Ulla Mueller urged the gathering to take action in identifying solutions to gender-based violence in communities. She added that, the UNFPA was convinced the gathering of religious and traditional leaders could change this worrying trend through actions and pronouncements that would promote social values related to equity, inclusion, justice, respect, dignity in their respective contexts. Mueller said the UN agency was pleased and privileged to support the summit as it would ensure the experiences of dignitaries were effectively leveraged in a holistic manner for strengthening positive values and fostering better moral behaviour.

To deter the prevalence of GBV, the monarchs and religious leader called for a sexual offender(s) register at community level to name and shame perpetrators. There were also recommendations for government to establish and fund at least one GBV response centre and shelter, including one forensic lab in each geopolitical zone in the country to support the gathering of forensic information to assist the prosecution of GBV cases.

The recommendations were made available in a call to action and compact of commitment that proffered support of government policies, community awareness and sensitization as solutions to ending GBV.

For more information, contact:

Judith Owoicho: judith.owoicho@one.un.org

Adewole Ajao: ajao@unfpa.org