25th – 16th December every year is set aside by the United Nations as the ‘International Day for the Violence against Women and Girls’. Also known as ‘Orange the World,’ these 16 days of activism are set aside and recognised as a period to call on citizens, governments and civil societies to get involved and to show how much they care about ending violence towards women and girls.
The theme for 2023: “Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls” is focused on accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.
As part of our activities, we organised a series of engagement sessions with secondary school students within selected secondary schools to educate, enlighten and get their support and willingness to participate in the advocacy and involvement in the fight against GBV.
A study conducted by CHELD in 2021 across tertiary institutions in the six geopolitical zones of the country revealed the role of men in tackling gender-based violence is underutilised and underestimated. As a result of this study, CHELD has focused on male engagement in the prevention of violence against women and girls. As a result, CHELD has focused on engaging men and boys across secondary and tertiary institutions in the fight to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.
The sessions were conducted using training material. In the end, the students were able to understand the forms of GBV; appropriate language and behaviour in dealing with women and girls; and their role as allies and bystanders in preventing GBV.
Outcome
At the end of the session, students were to understand
- the forms of GBV;
- appropriate language and behaviour in dealing with women and girls; and
- their role as allies and bystanders in preventing GBV.
Over 200 students from the selected schools took part in the engagement sessions
