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The Committee of Friends for Humanity (COFFHA)  held its inaugural annual summit on Wednesday, 4^th of November, 2020. The theme of the event was ‘Curbing the Rising Incidents of Sexual Abuse in Africa.’

The summit which was held virtually had Ambassador Arikana Quoa, Founder and President of the Africa Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI) as the keynote speaker. Other lined up speakers included Her Excellency (H.E.), Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi – the First Lady of Ekiti State; Anita Kemi DaSilva – Ibru MD, MPH – Founder, Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF); Mr. Peter Mancha – Programme Manager, UN Women and Mr. Ubong King – President, Ubong King Foundation. A notable personality at the summit was Her Excellency (H.E.), the First Lady of Enugu State, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi.

There has been a long history of Gender Based Violence (GBV) though barely reported and mostly undocumented. Due to stigmatization and humiliation, women are unwilling to report cases of sexual harassments and domestic violence, thereby leading to an insufficiency documentation of tangible data around the subject matter.

As the society began to encourage women to speak up, there has been remarkable increase in the reports and documentations of the incidences such as incest, rape, molestation, and sexual abuse. The increase in the willingness of women to speak out gave rise to the number of reported GBV incidences that have been on the increase in the last three years. The year 2020 experienced a surge in GBV cases, especially during the months of the lockdown precipitated by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The media was awash with reports that show the alarming spike in incidents and consequences of GBV over the last six months. Local media reported that almost 4,000 schoolgirls got pregnant in Kenya while there was a 50% increase in GBV within the first six months of 2020 in Liberia. In Nigeria, due to the alarming rise in GBV incidents during the lock down and public outcry, all state governors declared a state of emergency on GBV in June, 2020. The rise of GBV cases during this period of pandemic is not peculiar to Africa alone as WARIF report stated that there has been an increase in GBV cases globally by 20%. France and Argentina reported 30% and 25% increase in cases of domestic violence during the lock down respectively.

The virtual summit was kicked off by the COFFHA’s Publicity and Marketing Executive, Chizor Malize, who shared that Community of Friends for Humanity (COFFHA) has executed several community developmental programmes for over two decades of its existence and to take the narrative further, COFFHA has brought together knowledgeable individuals to share insights on the shadow pandemic – sexual abuse which has risen steeply during the COVID-19 global pandemic.  She also said that ‘’COFFHA is visionary and dynamic in seeking ways to bring knowledge to the forefront. One of such is enabling discussions and deliberations around sustainable solutions to address the increasing rise in sexual abuse in Africa.’’

According to Nkechi Ali-Balogun, the President of COFFHA, in her welcome address stated that the GBV including rape, domestic violence and sexual abuse has assumed a serious dimension globally. It has increased at an alarming rate in Africa and Nigeria. The GBV has remained a shameless masquerade in the society. She further shared that the lockdown due to the COVID-19 global pandemic portrayed a quantum rise in rape and sexual violence reports – “Within the last nine months, women have been expose to sexual harassments  thus making it a shadow pandemic.” This informed the need to put together this intellectual discourse to share, advocate, and advance sustainable solution to this hidden threat.

Her Excellency, Ambassador Arikana Chihombori Quao, in her keynote address shared that sexual abuse is not just an African issue, but a world-wide phenomenon and it needs to be uprooted from the roots by engaging the route of education. Speaking on how to curb GBV, “Serious legislation needs to be discussed and introduced. The more we talk about the issue in platforms like this, the more we continue to remind and empower the girl child that it’s fine to speak up. We also need to create more shelters for victims of GBV.  Girls that are abused by family members can be put under a roof where they can be assured of safety and protection.’’

She commended the efforts of COFFHA for putting together the apt and impactful seminar, indicating that the forum would serve as an avenue to highlight and amplify the voices of the voiceless which are the women and girls.

Speaking at the summit, the First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi posited that a lot has been done at the state and national level to curb GBV in Nigeria. However, there is a need to deepen the intervention strategies. She brilliantly highlighted eight different intervention strategies that the government, institutions and individuals can adopt to curb the rising menace. The first is the need to continue the call for a state of emergency on GBV. According to her, it is more impactful if all arms of government, as well as public institutions declare their own state of emergency on GBV and apply it to their various institutions. Other strategies listed by her include effective implementation of legal and policy frameworks, effective coordination of mechanisms for curbing GBV at national and state levels, more women empowerment initiatives, community ownership, ensuring treatments, care and protection mechanisms for GBV victims, funding and provision of psychosocial support for victims and lastly, more partnerships.

‘’Government needs to execute more women empowerment initiatives. When women are empowered educationally and financially, then we can break the circle of suffering and oppression. Also, communities need to own the issue. They need to buy into the argument that we cannot have a society that condones violence against women and girls. When a community buys into this conversation, they will unlikely sabotage government and institutions’ efforts in the fight against GBV,’’ she said.

Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, in her presentation revealed that within two weeks of the lockdown, WARIF recorded a 72% increase in distress calls received with 64% of the calls being women at risk. Over 3,600 rape cases were recorded across Nigeria during the lockdown which pushed for the call for state of emergency declared in June, 2020.

According to her, sustainable solutions that Non-Governmental Organizations can implement include development of comprehensive health services for women at risk via services provided at Sexual Assault Referral Centres, promotion of the need for education and implementation of educational programmes, creation of awareness and advocacy about violence against women in all communities targeting different audiences and groups,  collation and provision of collated data to monitor trends and patterns, and inclusion of boys and men in the conversation.

Peter Mancha in his session noted that weak mechanism for the prevention of sexual violence including monitoring and reporting mechanisms continues to account for the rising incidence of GBV cases amongst other factors. “The COVID-19 global pandemic has deepened pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political and economic systems,’’ he said. He again emphasized the strong need for support from men in fighting GBV.

Ubong King, also a speaker at the summit, listed that culture and religion has played a huge part in the rise of sexual violence. Women have been second placed and their voice subdued. He pushed for the empowerment of women, enlightening them of their value and potentials and the education of men as core players in curbing sexual abuse in Africa and globally.

By virtue of registration, over 200 participants from all walks of life signed up for the summit. Feedback from attendees of the session acknowledged that the summit was highly revealing and exposing. It also proffered practicable and result-driven solutions to the shadow pandemic facing countries globally.

The post-event publicity was well publicized in several top Nigerian newspapers, thereby giving the event wider coverage for people who couldn’t attend the event when it was aired.