It is a known fact that the COVID-19 Pandemic that graced the word in recent years has been a bane on the progress of the world at large.

The Centre for Women’s Health and Information (CEWHIN) called for a more collaboration to curb ‘Gender based violence in Nigeria’.

During the two-day workshop which took place over the weekend, Mrs. Atinuke Odukoya said that the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has made it evident that Gender violence in resident in our communities.

She further added that this has however placed a threat on the livelihood and sustainability of women and girls in the society. As a result the country has been tagged as ‘shadow pandemic’.

In the words of Odukoya, “Statistics shows that Nigeria has long been facing a gender-based violence crisis, with 30 percent of women and girls aged 15-49 having experienced sexual abuse.

She further added, ”Looking at the states (Ogun, Lagos and Abuja respectively) placed on full lockdown by the Federal Government, the increase in reports of domestic violence cases rose from 60 in March, 2020 to 238 in the same year.

Atinuke further added that a lot needs to be done I order to address the issue of Gender based violence. In her words, “The good thing is that people are now learning to speak out and seek for help. They are now learning not to die in silence.

Awareness creation is high and capacity of officers to handle these cases is also being boosted” .

Gender Development specialist, Chibogu Obinwa added that the “Lack of coordination amongst stakeholders and poor implementation of legal frameworks has contributed to the Gender violence issue.
Obinwa added, “We need to push for implementation of laws that protect women and girls against gender-based violence;”.

However the sensitizing of women and girls on the rights available to them to get justice is paramount.