On 27^th September, 2024, INTERCEP, a sub-grantee of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF) and the Ford Foundation, held an interactive forum to address the menace of the GBV in schools.

The interactive forum was facilitated by Elder Ambassador Justina Mike Ngwobia. Mrs Ngwobia started by highlighting some aspects that tend to perpetuate the idea of the GBV.  “Any part of our culture that is not working for our good has to change,” she emphasised, “otherwise, we will only be treating the symptoms of GBV, not the causes.” She explained that GBV is not only about the physical violence like rape, female genital mutilation, or domestic abuse, but also about psychological and emotional violence.

Ngobia also pointed out that, unlike popular belief, it is not only women who undergo GBV. She noted that men also undergo GBV, but as part of harmful cultural beliefs, they are forced to silence because it is shameful to admit that their wives either beat them or violate them. “Men have been taught that it is a shameful thing to admit that their wives have overpowered them. So, most men will rather allow themselves to be violated at home than speak up and be considered a weakling. And this is what is responsible for the many cases of husbands killing their wives or maiming them. In most cases, it is because they have been bottling up for too long, so when they reach explosion stage, they explode completely.”

Participants also shared their opinions about the GBV as it relates to schools and publics institutions. Some of them raised concerns about how some victims of the GBV feel trapped, especially as some of the perpetrators of the GBV are the victims’ benefactors, in most cases, either as their guardians or teachers. Recommendations were made to deal with cases of both. In cases where the perpetrators are the guardians, school authorities were encouraged to create safe spaces for the students to freely open up and speak about what they are facing, without fear or intimidation. From there, it was the roles of the teachers to take the next steps by reporting to the relevant authorities like INTERCEP which is a human rights advocacy NGO.

In cases where the perpetrators were teachers, recommendations were raised about implementing stringent policies that duly punish offenders beyond mere dismissal from the system.

Recommendations were also made about the establishment of gender desks in public institutions where cases of the GBV could be handled in safe spaces. Recommendations were also made about including traditional leaders in this fight, as they are held in high esteem by people in the community. These traditional leaders should publicly state their stance against the GBV and encourage community members to always speak up when they see instances like that.

The interactive forum was attended by PTA excos from 10 different schools in Jos South LGA, a representative of the Plateau state Commissioner for Women Affairs, a representative from the Human Rights Commission, representatives from CSOs, as well as private individuals.