Cross River moves to check gender-based violence

A special document to check gender-based violence across schools in Cross River State has been launched.

At the launch, on Friday, the FHI 360 Gender Departments Project Director, Four Pillars PLUS project, Ahlam Kays, said: “Children, who witness any acts of violence, and children who are exposed to violence or abuse in any form, now have a mechanism that provides a clear guidance on how to report it, how and where to get support and help (medical, psychological or legal). They also know that they will be protected by the law against any retribution for reporting violence.”

The special document, which is a model, is the Cross River State School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) Response Algorithm, powered by the FHI 360 Four Pillars PLUS Project with funding from the GE Foundation, in compliance with the provisions of international treaties, such as the United Nations Charter on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the welfare of the child, to which Nigeria and some other countries are signatories.

“If young people must successfully attend and complete their education,” Kays said, “the school environment must be safe, friendly and free of abuse in any form. This way, students are bound to record better learning outcomes.”

While launching the document, the Commissioner for Education, Obong Godwin Ettah, who represented Governor Ben Ayade, said the state government will ensure that all hands are on deck to achieve a brighter future for the children in the state.