The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has called for stronger collaboration among traditional rulers, law enforcement agencies and community leaders to prevent gender-based violence (GBV) in Ekiti State.
The call was made during a two-day dialogue between traditional leaders and law enforcement agencies on strengthening community-based GBV prevention and coordinated action, held in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The programme, supported by the Ford Foundation, brought together traditional rulers, security agencies, lawyers and members of the Gender-Based Violence Management Committee in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the Country Vice President/National President, FIDA Nigeria, Mrs. Eliana Martins, the Chairperson of FIDA, Ekiti State Chapter, Mrs. Ayobami Olowoyo-Richards, said the dialogue was aimed at reviewing how traditional leaders had been implementing community by-laws introduced to address gender-based violence.
She said the organisation had also trained community volunteers, particularly youth leaders, to serve as first responders and report cases of GBV.
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Olowoyo-Richards urged traditional rulers to take the lessons from the training back to their communities and ensure that the message reached residents who could not attend the programme.
During the dialogue, participants discussed the dangers of human rights violations, including human trafficking, and the need for stakeholders to strengthen community-level sensitisation and prevention efforts.
One of the sessions, led by the Senior Programme Manager and Project Lead on the Ford Foundation project, Fikih Obaro, examined the tendency to focus mainly on trafficking involving Nigerians being taken to other countries, while paying less attention to trafficking that occurs within the country.
Obaro stressed the need for traditional institutions, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to sensitise residents on the various forms of trafficking and other human rights violations, particularly those that may occur within their communities.
He said stronger community awareness and coordinated action were necessary to identify cases early, protect victims and prevent further violations.
He added that collective action remained critical to creating safer communities across Ekiti State.
The Ekiti State Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr. Samson Oladimeji, said gender-based violence could expose victims to human trafficking.
He urged families to promote love, understanding and unity, while calling on traditional rulers to sensitise their subjects on the dangers of GBV.
Also speaking, the Alararomi of Araromi-Ekiti, Oba Gabriel Adebomi Babalola, described the initiative as important in educating residents about their rights and the dangers of gender-based violence.
The monarch urged FIDA to take some of its sensitisation activities directly to communities across the 16 local government areas, saying this would help expose more residents to information on the dangers of GBV.
He also called on traditional rulers to sustain the sensitisation of their subjects and ensure that the message reaches people at the grassroots.