Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said that the menace of gender-based violence will never be tolerated in the FCT, adding that the administration would do whatever it takes to put an end to it completely.
The administration made this known yesterday where over 310 students drawn from the 62 wards of the six area councils were sensitised on the need to speak-out when they are maltreated or harassed sexually.
The mandate secretary, FCTA Women Affairs Secretariat, Mrs Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, gave the advice when she led the students on road walk to campaign against Gender Based Violence, GBV in Abuja.
Benjamins-Laniyi explained that the road walk show was an advocacy initiative of the FCTA to commemorate the 16days activism against GBV, to create an awareness that such an act will not be tolerated in the nation’s capital.
She said the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, is championing “FCT Day of The Adolescent Girl child” in the territory, towards creating safe space for them.
“This will become a national event by next year. But it is starting here, Abuja, with Nyesom Wike as the Super champion of ‘He for She for adolescent girls’ in the FCT,” she said.
The mandate secretary who called on the gender-based violence victims to use the phone number 08078111126, appealed to parents and community leaders who prevent their wards or subjects from speaking out because of the stigma, to rescind from such act to enable government nip the menace of gender-based violence in the bud.
“In FCT, to Orange our World, means to orange the hope of the adolescent girl child. It is to teach our young girls to speak up and not to allow anyone to intimidate them. Please call, speak- out, report, do not hold back, there is help. We at FCTA Women Affairs Secretariat have the minister backing to bring renewed hope to the people.
“We want to assure these young girls that when perpetrators of this wicked act tell you not to speak, it is a lie. You need to report, because if you don’t report there is no reference to what we need to follow through in the place of getting justice,” she said.
