The task force on gender based violence in Ebonyi State has renewed its commitment towards eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, including female genital mutilation (FGM) in the State.
The undertaking emerged in a one-day bimonthly meeting of the group and its partners held in Abakaliki, the State capital on Thursday.
The meeting was organized by a Nongovernmental Organization, Economic and Social Empowerment of Rural Communities (ESERC) with support from the EU- UN Spotlight Initiative.
The event featured presentation and review of reports from the GBV partners in the State, especially with regards to the 2021 16 days of activism.
The group also drew fresh strategic plans on how to better tackle cases of gender based violence for the current year, 2022.
The State Coordinator, GBV task force, Barr. Mrs Faithvin Nwancho, and the Program Manager, ESERC, Ikechukwu Nwaogu, in their seperate speeches, emphasized that the essence of the meeting was for the group to review activities of the previous year, and proffer ways forward in ensuring that the GBV menace adjudged high in the State, was fought to a standstill.
While expressing satisfaction with the level of contributions made by the members in the past year, Nwancho charged them to redouble their efforts to achieve greater feat in the current year.
She implored Community leaders, Traditional rulers and opinion leaders never to hesitate in reporting GBV cases in their various jurisdictions as a collaborative approach towards achieving best outcome.
The State Commissioner for health Dr. Daniel Umezuruike, and his counterpart of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Chinwe Okah represented by their gender desk officers, Ngozi Roland and Florence Onwa, respectively, appreciated the task force team for their good work and pledged their Ministries commitment and total support to the group in its efforts to eliminating the practice in the State.
Okah maintained that the Ebonyi State's Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law has added greater impetus to the fight against GBV across the State.
She urged the task force to take advantage of the law to concretize their strategies for better results.
Sharing his testimonies, one of the participants in the meeting, the traditional ruler of Oriuzor Community in Ezza North local government area, Eze Gabriel Nwite Ngene, revealed the several efforts he had made in his Community towards combating the prevalence of GBV to include heavy fines and other forms of traditional sanctions on offenders.
He called on other traditional rulers to join hands together in fighting the menace for a better society.
Others who spoke to newsmen including the representative of Jhpiego, Nneka Chijioke and the GBV Deputy Coordinator in the State Rev. Flora Egwu, expressed their readiness to speak against GBV, including sexual violence, early/child marriage, among others.
Egwu observed that there was increase in the reporting of GBV cases among victims and eye witnesses in the State through the activities of the task force, adding that the team would leave no stone unturned in following up cases of GBV in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
She expressed avowed commitment of the team in bringing perpetrators to book.
Among those that presented reports during the meeting were the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) National Obstetrics, Fistula Centre and Medical Women.
The task force team revealed that it has handled over twenty five cases of GBV from November, 2021 to date.
