EU recommits to fight against gender based violence
Representative of the European Union, Mrs Esma Stuart has said the Commission would continue to support advocacy to prevent gender-based violence in Nigeria and globally.
Making the commitment at the consultation with Women’s Rights Organisations Thursday in Abuja, Stuart, noted that despite the successes so far recorded, challenges still persists.
She said, “Addressing GBV is a significant, long-term development challenge. Recognizing the scale of such the challenge, the ACT programme is part of the EU’s continuous commitment to invest in building global and regional partnerships to prevent gender-based violence.
“The ACT programme will take forward the work that has been done so far, and build on the achievements to further strengthen movement building around the elimination of GBV.”
She urged the women’s rights groups to unite as they continue to fight all forms of violence to create a gender equal world.”
“Women organisations play a central role in advancing the implementation of global normative frameworks, contribute to societal development whilst reaching the poorest and most vulnerable and marginalised women and girls,” she added.
The consultative meeting has as its theme: ‘Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence against Women A.C.T. to End Violence against Women’
In her opening remarks, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mrs Beatrice Eyong, urged women to be strategic and united as they seek to end violence against women and girls.
According to Eyong, women must build partnerships if they have a chance of ending the scourge.
“This specific programme will therefore build on the partnerships concluded with civil society under the Spotlight Initiative and focus on building stronger coalitions and networks of women’s organisations at global and regional level.
“Supporting and investing in strong and autonomous feminist organizations and movements is therefore a key strategy for achieving transformational change in policy at global, regional and national levels to catalyze and contribute to wider multi-sectoral efforts to end VAWG. This is also critical to hold governments and other actors accountable on their due diligence to end VAWG,” she said.
The Country Representative stressed that the workshop will avail participants the opportunity to better understand their roles as true defenders of principles in the fight against GBV.
“It is a pleasure to address you today, at the very first regional civil society consultation workshop as part of the EU ACT programme: Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence against Women.
“The programme is one of our commitments as co-leaders of the Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) under the Generation Equality Process, and asserts more firmly our role as a true defender of principles, values and normative work on women’s rights, gender equality and more specifically gender-based violence.
“As most of you know, this Action Coalition is a multi stakeholder partnership that mobilises governments, civil society, international organisations and the private sector in the fight against gender-based violence.
“Through the Spotlight Initiative, the EU and UN have been working hand in hand with civil society organisations across the continent (including some of you) and in many countries, this partnership has shown that violence against women and girls is preventable,” she further said.
