Rivers State Deputy Governor Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo says the fight against gender based violence or sexual abuse cannot be won without bringing the boys on board.
Dr. Banigo stated this during the inauguration of the Protect the Girl Child Initiative Peer Group Club on Sexual Violence at the Federal Government College in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday, 9th February, 2022.
Represented by her Senior Special Assistant on General Duties and the Coordinator of the Protect the Girl Child Initiative Programme in her office, Barr. Inegogo Fubara, Banigo said “We cannot successfully end this fight against gender based violence or sexual abuse without bringing the boys on board. We know the perpetrators mainly are boys, but the boys also are victims of sexual abuse, so we thought it wise to start the Protect the Girl Child Initiative Peer Group Club, this is the first one, we decided to come to Federal Government College which is a Unity School, so you all are lucky to be part of something that is going to be really great, we plan to start up this club in other schools but, have started with this FGC PH. By engaging you boys we believe that issues that has to do with consent, issues of communication and rape, all those issues of sexual abuse requires not only the female gender but also the male”.
Banigo disclosed that this Peer Group Club was borne out of her desire to have a one on one talk with the children, from the fall out of the seminar she organized last year on mental health and child abuse, adding that it was important to have a one on one interaction with the children on issues relating to child abuse, noting that it was called Protect the Girl Child Initiative, but boys were encouraged to join the Club whose President and Vice President are Male.
According to the Deputy Governor, boys were encouraged to join because the fight to end sex abuse and gender based violence cannot be successful without bringing the boys on board.
“We know the perpetrators mainly are boys but the boys are also victims of sexual abuse, so we thought it wise to start the Protect the Girl Child Initiative Peer Group Club, this first one in the Federal Government College which is a unity school, so you all are lucky to be part of something that is going to be really great, we plan to start up this clubs in other schools but have started with this one”. She further stressed.
The Deputy Governor said by engaging the boys issues that has to do with consent, issues on communication and rape, issues of sexual abuse requires not only the female gender but also the male, stressing that when the boys are involved we are creating a safer environment for everyone not only the girls, but the boys also.
In her Presentation, the Resource Person, Mrs. Onyiye Ananaba said globally one out of three women experience sexual violence, if we have sixty million people within a space, at least 20 million, which represents 23 -36% would experience unwanted sex with an intimate partner.
While noting that approximately 20% of women and 5 to 10 % of men in the world are reported to have been survivors of sexual violence at infancy.
According to her 150 million girls and 7million boys experience sexual violence globally.
Highlights of the occasion was the inauguration of an eight man executive of the club headed by Master Alex-Igbarima Golden an SS3 Student.
