Federal Gov’t Decries High Rate Of Violence Against PWDs

The federal government has revealed that there is high rate of violence against women, children, and other persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the country.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, disclosed this during the launch of a research report on “Decent Work for Persons With Disabilities” in Abuja.

She said that persons with disabilities throughout the world have been subjected to widespread violations of their human rights.

Tallen noted that available statistics indicated that the unemployment rate and more workers with disabilities tend to be twice or three times more than that of other workers.

The Minister, who was represented by Mrs Onwuzurike Gloria, said: “The challenge of access to the physical environment including transportation, housing or workplaces coupled with still health prejudices among many employers, co-workers, and the general public aggravates already difficult situations.

“It is worrisome to know that physical accessibility prevents a major barrier to many persons with disabilities seeking work or training this also applies to locally built environments.”

In his welcome remarks, the country programmes director, Solidarity Centre, Sonny Ogbuehi, who was represented by Senior Program officer, Bashman Mohammed, said in 2021, the Solidarity Center supported the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to conduct a study on the prevalence of Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria’s World of Work and the findings were shocking, showing about 56 per cent of workers reported to have experienced GBVH in their workplace and GBVH was the highest among workers in the informal sector.

He said, “Part of the recommendation was to advocate for the ratification of the C190 and further research on the working conditions of workers with disabilities in Nigeria.

“We recognize the efforts of the working class toward the ratification of the Convention on Violence and Harassment and congratulations once again.”

In 2022, he said Solidarity Center supported workers from trade unions and CSOs in conducting participatory action research on the working conditions of workers with disabilities despite the ratification and domestication of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

He said: “Now we are so proud to present the findings from this study. In my opinion, the time is now right to reflect on a number of questions. Have we been inclusive when we conduct activities?

“Have our programs had the intended effect? How can we secure equal access to decent work for persons with disabilities? How can we secure lasting and sustainable growth?

“The discussions on the content of the findings will serve as a catalyst for advocating for equal access to decent work for workers with disabilities.

“In the next few months, the Solidarity Center will be conducting activities and workshops to increase knowledge of Equality, Inclusion, and Diversity (EID) where you will be able to join in and improve your understanding of EID in the workplace.”