A Congolese doctor, Dennis Mukengere Mukwege, who won the maiden Daily Trust African of the Year award in 2008, last night in Abuja, called for joint and decisive actions against sexual violence, especially being perpetrated against the women and girls.
Mukwege, who was also a joint winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize awarded by the Swedish Nobel Committee, made the call, last night in Abuja at an international conference tagged “Addressing Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Conflict through Transitional Justice- and Screening of the ‘Prosecutor’” organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).
The gynaecologist, who won the Daily Trust award in recognition of his work in helping female victims of the civil unrest in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, said it was important to also educate the boys and girls on one hand and boys and men on the other over the menace and consequences of sexual violence.
According to him, there is the urgent need to stand for boys and girls going through sexual and gender-based violence.
“It is my wish that support victims of sexual and gender-based violence as a human right. We need to galvanize the political will to see that survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence get their lives back. We have seen atrocities in Congo DR and now in Nigeria, destroying genital organs of women via rape, pregnancy and more.”
“We can do something about the wrong in our society. We need to fight together against sexual and gender-based violence in Africa. Silence is a very potent tool used by perpetrators of sexual violence. We need to support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence instead of stigmatizing them,” Mukwege added.
The CDD Director, Idayat Hassan, said though there is helping coming to the Northeast, the issue of sexual harassment and violence still persist.
According to her sexual and gender-based violence must be tackled to preserve societal sanity.
“How do we ensure that things are done the right way? It is a way to start engaging the system. We must address the issue of stigmatization,” she said.
The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, represented by Mrs. Maryam Uwais, said many, especially children have been displaced without means of living.
She said the government is working on reconstruction and reintegration in the North East, and also adopting the community driven conflict resolution.
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