groups take campaign against Sexual and Gender Based violence to schools, churches in Bayelsa

Gender based advocacy groups in Bayelsa State have launched a sensitization campaign against sexual and gender based violence in schools and churches in the state, calling on the girl child to be aware and protect themselves against sexual predators.

The advocacy campaign, which was organized by the State Gender Response Initiative under the directive of it’s initiator Dr Mrs Gloria Ebibomo Diri in collaboration with gender based advocacy groups including FIDA, WOWICAN, CARENEPERE Initiative, Standup for Women Society, (SWS), Nigerian Association of Female Engineers of Nigeria Bayelsa chapter, the Starrz Safety Initiative, the Carenepere initiative, TEP TEP Humanitarian Foundation, GREP and the Albinos Foundation, have toured over Seven Public and Private schools and two churches in the first batch of it’s sensitization including the BDGS Ovom and St. Jude secondary school Amarata both in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The Chairman of the State Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT), Barr. Dise Sheila Ogbise, while speaking at the end of the first phase of the campaign held at the BDGS,Ovom and the St.Judes Secondary School,Amarata, commended the Bayelsa First Lady, Dr. Gloria Diri for giving members of the team a platform to work stating that the partnership with other organizations have helped to pass on the message across the state capital. She also described her symbolic participation to wrap up the first phase of the sensitization campaign as laudable.

According to Barr. Ogbise, “This sensitization is so symbolic because for the first time we had the presence of a Governor’s wife in a school sensitization. The sensitization that has been ongoing for over three weeks has yielded positive results as more awareness has been created on preventive and protective strategies to curb issues of sexual and gender based violence. We also appreciate Her Excellency for the lead as this move as further strengthened Grit’s​ relationship with other civil society organizations.”

Earlier in her speech at St Jude’s girl’s secondary school amarata, the Wife of the Bayelsa State Governor, Dr. Gloria Diri called on the girl child to be conscious of the happenings in their surroundings and not allow sexual predators to jeopardise their future. In the voice of the first lady, ” protect yourselves and dont allow any man to jeopardies your future. You should always be conscious of your surroundings and everybody around you. Everyone is a suspect including some parents, guardians and teachers”.

At the Bishop Dimiari Grammar School, which is a school for boys , the Bayelsa First Lady challenged the boys to always learn to love and protect their sisters, by ensuring that they are safe from any form of violence noting that they also should not partake in rape, cultism, drug abuse among others. She advised the male students to know that they are the​ future of tomorrow stressing that BDGS has produced great men in the state and they must maintain that standard and do the needful to secure their future.

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