Advocacy and Capacity Building for Comprehensive Management of Gender-Based Violence in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (ELCDA), a project of Women’s Rights and Health Project (WRAHP), Ejigbo Lagos State, Nigeria
WRAHP’s organizational goal is to achieve a just and equitable society where women and young girls enjoy sound health, equal development and maximum self actualization.
WRAHP works to attain this through six core objectives, two of which have goals that address women’s rights. These are:
- To actively engage women’s groups and local institutions in sustaining sexual and reproductive health and rights
- To increase the access and understanding of victims of gross reproductive health rights abuses of legal processes and health information.
These goals are based on the understanding that health and rights are inextricably linked and that community level intervention provides a unique opportunity to harness culture and tradition to address these issues in a positive way.
Project:Advocacy and Capacity Building for Comprehensive Management of Gender-Based Violence in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (ELCDA), Lagos, Nigeria
The major objective was to strengthen the capacity of health workers and nurses in the health care facilities in the community for effective management of gender-based violence, through:
- Developing a critical mass of gender advocates among Local Government Council Officials…. by sensitizing government officials to their roles in promoting the rights of women through legislature, policies and programmes and
- Strengthening the capacity of 30 health and social welfare personnel for effective management of gender based violence, through providing information on the documentation of evidence necessary for prosecution of GBV perpetrators.
Main Strategies:
“Advocacy and capacity building were the main strategies applied to attain the objectives of this intervention. By sensitizing the direct project beneficiaries we were able to make them see the importance of behavior change with regards to policies (government officials) and practice (health/welfare personnel).
- A significant knowledge was built into the programme design through advocacy materials and issues addressed at the capacity building… “ (ref. SWG Evaluation questionnaire)
Project Outcomes
The intervention attained its intended objectives, as evidenced by: Government officials displaying more commitment to promoting women’s rights by participating in the training. The Chairperson also indicated that “women’s rights issues will be included in their programme next year (2011)”. The Medical Officer of Health invited WRAHP to partner with the health department in efforts to address Maternal Mortality issues in the Local Council Development Area. These evidences suggest an increased sensitivity on the part of government officials for gender issues.
