Christian Aid seeks broader policies on women’s economy, security

The Christian Aid (UK) Nigeria has called for urgent and holistic measures to address violence against women by incorporating such into broader policies and programmes like social protection systems, to strengthen women’s economic security and reduce the risk of violence against them.

The Country Director, Christian Aid (UK) Nigeria, Mr Tope Fashola, made the call at a conference in commemoration of this year’s 16 days of activism on Gender Based Violence (GBV), themed: “UNiTE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls” on Thursday in Abuja.

He said these policies in turn need robust resources to support better planning and implementation.

“These policies will also create a safer workplace which is key for women to access economic resources and become less vulnerable to violence,” Fashola said.

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Also, the Senior Programme Coordinator, Uzor Uzoma, said Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) is preventable through the transformative gender justice approach, a core strategy of Christian Aid’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion strategy.

She said this envisions a society where systems of oppression that continue to discriminate against persons based on gender, socio-economic status, religious belief, race, disability and other identities are dismantled and substantive equality for all is achieved.

Also, the Adolescent Health and Information Projects, Christian Aid Nigeria, Amina Raji, said VAWG remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world.

She said it is also important to note that with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and climate change, VAWG has increased across different settings such as the workspace and online spaces thereby exacerbating existing challenges and generating new and emerging threats.