Secondary schools students should be taught preventive measures of the SGBV.
Recently, a bill that concerns secondary school education has been passed by the House of Representatives for a second reading. The legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Introduce Preventive Measures and Teachings of Sexual Gender-based Violence into the Curriculum as a Compulsory Subject (Civic Education) for All Secondary Schools,” is proposed by the House of Representatives so as to inculcate in secondary school students the preventive skills that are needed against sexual and gender-based violence.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and sponsor of the bill, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, explained that through the proposal of the bill, there would be a systematic and sustainable strategy towards the creation of awareness, preventive measures, management of cases, psychosocial support, case reports, and referral strategies to issues of gender-based violence. As a matter of fact, the teaching of the subject would spread across offences that are similar to gender-based violence and child rights violations.
Residents of urban and rural areas will have equal learning opportunity.
According to Prof. Ihonvbere, the bill’s sponsor, some of the gender-based violence related offences and child rights violations that the subject covers are sexual violence, which includes rape, intimidation, harassment, and many more; bullying and torture, child abuse, harmful traditional practices, which includes female genital mutilation, stigmatizing a child as a witch; child marriage; child trafficking for prostitution, slavery, labor, or ritual killings; gender discrimination; rampant organ harvesting, which has been reported by the National Agency, among others.
As stated by the lawmaker, the introduction of the bill is proposed due to recent research that revealed that there are essential advantages in imbibing in teenagers and young adults, the knowledge of preventive skills to help against issues of sexual and gender-based violence, and basic human rights. Case management or referral pathways of issues related to the aforementioned cases will yield great outcomes, given that male and female, urban and rural areas residents will be granted equal opportunities to learn.
A systematic approach to enlighten young ones should be taken.
The bill, when enacted into a law, will address rampant issues of the SGBV, making sure to address to issues of child protection rights, sexual violence, harassment, rape, and others. Highlighting cases of deceased teenagers such as late Ochanya Elizabeth of Benue State, 13 years old; late Karen Akphager of Premiere Academy, Lugbe, Abuja, 14 years old; late Don Davis of Deeper Life High School, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, 11 years old; the infamous saga of the Chrisland female student; late Sylvester Oromoni of Dowen College, Lagos, who was allegedly bullied and tortured; among many other cases, the Prof. stated that Nigeria only focus on the survivor-based approach when it comes to addressing issues of the SGBV.
Although the punitive measures are increased, attention needs to be paid to preventive approaches, which explains the reason behind the proposal of the bill. Experts have also said that in order to bring about a reduction in the cases of the SGBV and related offences, there should be an implementation of groups, individuals, and systematic interventions in schools. This intervention has to include the active participation of teachers, students, administrators, and parents. This act, as a systematic approach, will enlighten the young ones on the detection of red flags, thereby addressing the issue by early intervention.
The aims of the bill are realistic and achievable.
According to the lawmaker, the aims of the bill bear clarity, specificity, achievability, measurability, and realism. The introduction of teachings concerning anti-Sexual and Gender-Based Violence into the academic curricula of all Nigerian secondary schools will impact in students, the actual knowledge of the concept of the SGBV. In addition, after the enactment of the bill, there is a goal to record satisfactory knowledge of the SGBV from at least 80 percent of all the participating students, within 12 months of its commencement.
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This is good bill that has been passed, the legislature should approve it ASAP so it can become a law. This might help to reduce the case of sexual based gender violence. This will also help the young adults to know more out their rights
The proposed legislation will implement a methodical and long-lasting approach to the challenges of gender-based violence, including raising awareness, taking preventive action, managing cases, providing psychosocial assistance, collecting case reports, and referral mechanisms
Due to the frequency of sexual and gender-based violence, current research has shown that it is vital to instill in teenagers and young people the knowledge of preventive skills to aid with these concerns as well as fundamental human rights.Which in an impressive step taken by the legislature.
Students’ actual understanding of the idea of sexual and gender-based violence will be impacted by the inclusion of lessons on it in the academic curricula of all secondary schools in Nigeria
When we enlighten people on topics would broaden its scope to include crimes that are analogous to abuses of children’s rights and gender-based violence and will help a lot in curbing the issue.
This is a very clever idea that will teach kids in secondary schools the preventative skills that are required to protect themselves against sexual and gender-based violence.
The introduction of the bill would result in implementing a systematic and long-term strategy for raising awareness about the urgent problem that faces our society, which would also educate the young people.
A lot of children have been victims of different kinds of abuse, and I like the fact that the government is taking this measure because this will help reduce it
This is a very excellent bill because not only will it reduce the victims, but it will also help rehabilitate the affected people and help them go through the trauma.
Introducing this measure would educate young people on identifying warning signs, allowing the problem to be resolved by early intervention.
It’s the female that suffers most from gender-based violence, and I hope the enactment of the bill would help protect them from all these predators because these kind of abuses can scar them for life.
I feel the government should double the punishment for those violating kids. Maybe this would also make others think twice before committing the atrocity. Good one from the government at least they are taking steps in the right direction.
wow I’m so elated about this bill gender based violent bill been passed targeted towards our children in secondary schools due to alarming rates of different cases we have been seeing this will go a long way to curb and put stops to such reoccurring especially what all these children go through in some of this so called Borden schools,I can’t wait for this to be passed.
We really need to enlightenment the teens and the youth about sexual danger based violence. It is the credibility and the efficiency of the Nigeria youths now, that will determine the extent of a greater future for the country. We need to create an atmosphere where people will be able to seek resolve and help after being sexually abused. We must not stereotype them. We should ensure we don’t invalidate emotions of the victims and how they must have felt. There should not be discrimination and any one culpable and found guilty of sexual abuse based violence must be prosecuted. They will serve as deterrent to others.
Introducing the sexual gender violence in academic calendar in school will help them a lot it will educate them about sexual gender violence issue and how to prevent it and also the cause of it. If the bill is establish it will benefit all of people because alot of people are victim of this issue and if there is a serious punishment for this also I think it will also help to reduce it. Children should be enlighten about sexual gender violence.
This is very good enlightment to secondary school student. It will help a lot because many of them are facing the challenges in they various home and society. Such should also be as a program on Television station and radio station too.
What a fantastic strategy the House of Representatives has adopted to combat SGBV. It stands to reason that the subject would be taught in order to raise awareness of crimes like rape, which are frequently committed and are related to gender-based violence. This is clearly tackling the problem at its source.
If Sexual Gender Based Violence and child right violation bill is effectively passed into law and the students are educated about on it along with it preventive measures it will greatly reduce sexual violence in the society. Awareness should also be create in regard to this. Our society including the adult need to be educated. We have too many educated illiterate and the regular illiterate.
I think it a good thing they are enlightened about things like this and it would reduce sexual violence in the country. I also think adults should also be educated because most kids look up to the older ones and without the adults doing the right thing what do you expect from the youth
The enlightenment program given to secondary school student is good. Teaching kids in secondary schools the preventative skills that are required to protect themselves against sexual and gender-based violence is a great idea.
This is highly commendable. The earlier kids get enlightened about Sexual Gende-Based Violence, the likelihood of instilling good characters in them. These bill will go a long way and help prevent these menace.
This legislation should be passed and put into effect as soon as possible as it will have a significant impact, teach secondary school students the preventive skills required to counter sexual and gender-based violence, and hopefully decrease the number of victims as a result of the increased awareness.
The act is overdue and it need speedy passage by the lawmaker and total ratification by the executive because there is no moral again in Nigeria,this will curb alot of social vices in the society.
The level of occurrance of Sexual Gender Based Violence in our society is too high and need to be curb. Passing the bill of SGBV is of great significant to it reducing in our country. Our Secondary students will know their right and prevent it occurrance when educated about it.
This bill introduced by the law makers sounds good. Gender based violence and sex education is very needed in the school curriculum. The government, school and the parents/guardians are all going to work together for a better outcome. This bill should be made possible by all means.
This is a commendable act by the House of Representatives.
Everybody deserves to live freely without the fear of being sexually abused.
However, decent dressing should be enforced as well, as this will also make the community worth living.