For a long time, women and girls have been victims/survivors of gender-based Violence (GBV) who required protection, education, and empowerment to advocate for their human rights.[1] As a result, efforts to reduce GBV have been directed primarily toward women and girls. While this is still vital in the fight against GBV, there is an emerging need to broaden interventions to incorporate men and boys. In characterising GBV as a feminine issue, men who are mostly perpetrators and can be allies are ignored causing the scourge to persist. [2] This project sought to address these gaps in selected secondary schools in Lagos State.
The objective of this assignment is to educate teenage boys within selected secondary schools on GBV and get their buy-in on advocacy and participation in the fight against GBV.
Activity
16-day Activism against gender based violence is an annual campaign supported by the United Nation as a period to encourage the creation of awareness on the cause, impact and ways to end gender-based violence.
As part of our activities this year, we organised a series of engagement sessions with teenage boys 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.
The sessions were conducted using training material, and role playing exercises and at 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 500 male students from the selected schools took part in the engagement sessions
[1] Global Communities (2021) ‘Meaningful Engagement of Boys and Men: A Pathway to Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence’ https://globalcommunities.org/blog/meaningful-engagement-of-boys-and-men-a-pathway-to-prevention-and-response-to-gender-based-violence/
[2] Ibid
