Ministries of Justice, Women, Children and Social Welfare, Health, Youths, Sports and Special Needs, House of Assembly, religious bodies, Civil Society Organizations, Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities and security agencies in Osun State have committed themselves to ending sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities in the state.
They entered into this pact with a non-governmental organization, Centre for Women’s Health and Information at the Institutionalization of Community Task Force and Sign-Off of the Technical Action and Sustainability Plan on Prevention and Response to Women and Girls With Disabilities held in Osogbo.
The commitment is to protect and create a safe space for women and girls with disabilities from every form of abuse, and provide an enabling environment for them.
Speaking at the programme, the Director of CEWHIN, Atinuke Odukoya, explained the aim of the plan and intending goals of the technical action, saying it is to implement the action plans arrived at by stakeholders at recent stakeholders meeting the organisation organised in Osogbo and Ile-Ife.
According to Odukoya, “The sign-off is committed to ensuring that the state is safe for women and girls with disabilities, so they are not abused sexually, violently, physically or otherwise.
“The Ministries of Justice, Health, Women, Children and Social Affairs, Youths and Special Needs are all part of this project of preventing and responding to occasion of abuse against women and girls with disabilities.
She added, “What we have tried to do is to ensure that we strengthen collaboration amongst the institutions that are responsible for ensuring that there is no longer gender based violence against women and girls with disabilities.”
On the sustainability of the project, Odukoya said, “Our aim is that this three-year project, when it ends, the stakeholders within the state will take it on and continue to ensure the implementation of things that we have promised to do.
“Part of what we have done is to ensure a collaboration with the community task force; this is not all about the CEWHIN. It is their responsibility to also hold themselves responsible for the implementation. We also have a monitoring plan which is based on how we are going to track and follow up with what we said we are going to do and to ensure it has been done. We need Osun State to be safe for women and girls with disabilities.”
In his remarks, a traditional ruler in the state, Oba Dr Adedokun Abolarin, the Orangun of Oke-Ila, commended the organisation and stakeholders for seeking to protect and create a safe space for women and girls with disabilities.
The monarch said, “It is a collaborative and coordinated effort and that is what we are trying to do to make it participatory and let people know we all have equal right within the constitution. We are all created equally and have equal right, so, any destructive tendencies need to stop especially those of us in the rural parts of the state.
“Be it girls with disabilities, we shouldn’t treat others with disabilities badly. Rape cases are state matter, not in-house discussion or matters resolved at the palaces. In fact, palace should stop interfering in rape crime cases and let the right authorities handle the case for an enabling environment for the girls.”
Chairman of House Committee on Youth, Sports and Special Needs, Abiola Awoyeye commended the organisation while also called for more participation of key stakeholders to protect the women and girls with disabilities.
The Chairman of Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities, Osun State chapter, Stephen Olufemi hailed the initiative while explaining that it was a long sorted solution that would protect the women and girls with disabilities from any form of abuse.
“It is a very important solution that we have been expecting because it will save our people most especially our ladies with disabilities and children. This problem will be solved through this sign-off.
“We also commend the stakeholders who contributed to the success of this plan, and we urge for quick implementation of this law,” he added.
The CEWHIN project is supported by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UN Trust Fund), a project initiated to protect women and girls, and also women and girls with disabilities across the country.
The task force members were formally introduced to participants at the event, while stakeholders were tasked to do more for the persons with disabilities and ensure that the promises and pledges they have made and contained in the TASP, are carried out.
