GBV: WRAPA trains volunteers in Northeast
Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), has held three days training, aimed at building the capacity of its newly recruited volunteers for effective documentation of Gender Based Violence (GBV) Cases.
Mr Mohammed Maifada, Community Mobilisation Officer of WRAPA, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Gombe on Wednesday.
Maifada said WRAPA, as a non-profit organisation, was committed to increasing women’s access to justice through legal means.
He said the organisation recruited 60 volunteers across the six states in the North East.
“In this region, Borno, Yobe and Taraba states were not as effective as Bauchi Gombe and Adamawa, hence the need for us to strengthen their capacity for effective coverage.
” This is because the volunteers are the ones to identify problems at the community level to support survivors and victims of Gender-Based Violence to secure justice.
“ Also to ensure that women and girls are not left behind in decision-making, peace building, Social and gender inclusion,” he said.
Hajiya Lami Buba, the Zonal coordinator of WRAPA, said the meeting was made possible by the grant given to the organisation by the Ford Foundation, to assess its progress and challenges.
Buba said even youth volunteers had joined the meeting.
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” This is because we want them to mobilise the public to create awareness and ensure acceptance of WRAPA activities in their communities.
“ From the beginning, the organisation had hurdles from mainly males because of their domination of women.
“We want the participants to understand WRAPA very well so that they will mobilise support from the communities;” she said.
According to her, discrimination against women and girls starts from birth, because most families choose to send only male children to school, while on the other hand, some men also prevent their wives from working to earn a living.
She said some of the achievements recorded were the establishment of women centres in various places to take care of women who were being discriminated against by their husbands or in-laws.
Buba said WRAPA also took legal measures to ensure that no girl was prevented from going to school.
Mrs. Anita Dogo, Gombe State coordinator of WRAPA, said the organisation was doing well and making impact in Gombe.
” We have fought Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP), and now working on Violence Against Women and Girls,” Dogo said.
The coordinator said WRAPA had sponsored and won legal cases for victims of rape in the state.
