FG, World Bank launch drive to tackle gender violence

The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, in partnership with the World Bank Group Nigeria, yesterday launched a renewed push to tackle Gender-Based Violence (GBV), warning that the country loses billions of naira annually to the crisis.

Speaking at the National Dialogue on Ending Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Esuabana Nko Asanye, representing the minister, said, “As a nation, we cannot continue to lose our women and girls to violence, whether physical, economic or digital. When half of the population wakes up afraid to participate in society, no country can grow. Violence is costing us productivity, human capital and stability.”

She noted that the federal government had intensified interventions, highlighting that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act had been domesticated in 35 states and the FCT, while the Child Rights Act was nearly fully adopted nationwide.

The World Bank Country Director, Mr. Mathew Verghis, said GBV was one of Nigeria’s biggest development constraints, affecting education, labour participation, firm productivity and national competitiveness.

IFC’s Regional Director, Dahlia Khalifa, noted that Nigerian businesses lost nearly N6bn annually to workplace harassment and violence.

“Closing gender gaps could add up to $12tn to global GDP,” she said, adding that the IFC was partnering with financial institutions and over 100 companies to strengthen workplace policies and tackle financial abuse.

Dr. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, Mandate Secretary for Women Affairs in the FCT, said community-based interventions were ongoing across 884 communities to build safer spaces from the grassroots.

Asanye affirmed that the federal government would continue working with states, development partners, civil society and the private sector to ensure that “violence has no hiding place in Nigeria.”

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