http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stella-mukasa/banning-genderbased-viole_b_7293920.html
Gender based violence is an issue that has been around for many years. This is a global problem that is raising attention in several areas around the world. According to Stella Mukasa, the assistant director of gender, violence and rights at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), “Globally, 35 percent of women have experienced either intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime” (Mukasa, 2015). Gender based violence is a subject that can be found anywhere within a society no matter the religious beliefs, economic status, or location of the victim and perpetrator.
This article focuses on gender based violence in Nigeria and the passing of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill. The VAPP bill refers to the banning of the many forms of gender based violence and it is a major step for Nigeria’s females to end gender based violence once and for all. According to Mukasa this will not only be a positive change for Nigeria, but it can also be globally significant. Although legislative actions will be very helpful in the movement against gender based violence Mukasa also states that it is important to realize that this is not the only thing that can be done to prevent and stop it.
Ending gender based violence will take both legislative and societal measures. It is important for the citizens within societies to enforce that violence against women and girls is morally wrong. It is also vital that we work together to make our communities safe environments from violence and perpetrators of gender based violence. The article gives ideas of how to get the community involved in the effort to end gender based violence. These suggestions include working within school systems and the media to educate the public about this topic and show ways to prevent and stop it from happening, encouraging victims to report their perpetrators and take a stand, and addressing the stigma that surrounds talking about gender based violence. Although complete prevention of this issue may not be achieved it is also important to provide supportive services to females who have been victims of violence.
I found this article to be extremely beneficial when thinking about the topic of gender based violence and it made me think of the things that maybe I as a citizen could suggest to the community to give awareness to this topic. What type of community programs do you think can be suggested to give awareness to the topic of gender based violence? What would be included in this program? Types of services for victims?
-Kimberly Gaskins