Anthonia Duru
Reports have shown that there was an upsurge in case of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in different parts of the country during the lockdown occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic.
According to a national survey carried out by Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) on Rapid Gender Analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 on Households in Nigeria, the pandemic further exacerbates pre-existing structural inequalities in income, decision-making between men and women. “The pandemic further marginalizes women and exposed them to plethora of security challenges and domestic violence,” tjr report States.
The report further show that the highest proportion of girls and women that were sexually abused with the COVID-19 pandemic were female respondents from FCT (58%), Kaduna (47%) and Lagos State (46%).
The study further revealed that a result across all the selected states and FCT shows that 45.2% experienced domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The report however recommends that policy makers should institute gender-budgeting framework into national emergency budgetary allocation to address specific gender issues especially women concerns.
Executive Director WARDC, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, while addressing journalists at the presentation of the report urged government to appropriate prevention and response measures be put in place for GBV including hotlines for reporting incidents; counseling supports and safe shelter .
“There should be women inclusion in decision making and participatory governance. Gender sensitive tools, sex- disaggregated data and measurements for undertaking gender assessment of programs. Child issues and concerns should be mainstreamed into gender framework for policy interventions, especially nationals emergencies,” the report supported by UKaid and Actionaid .
