Traditional rulers, community and religious leaders have been urged to address the rising cases of violence against women and girls in their respective domains in Osun State.
They were sensitised on how to prevent the scourge of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the state, capitalising on their influential positions at a two-day Capacity Building Workshop for Traditional and Religious Leaders held in Osogbo, capital of Osun State.
The programme, titled “Partnership for Enhanced VAWG Prevention Among Religious and Traditional Stakeholders in Ogun and Osun State, Nigeria”, was organised by the non-governmental organisation Centre for Women’s Health and Information (CEWHIN), with support from the Ford Foundation.
At the separate conversations, the traditional and religious leaders resolved to lead the vanguard against VAWG, sexual exploitation and also sensitise other leaders of thought in the state.
Addressing traditional and religious leaders, including those of the Traditional Religion Worshippers Association of Osun State (TRWASO), Mrs Aduke Obelawo, State Coordinator of the Inter-African Committee (IAC) Nigeria on the Eradication of Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Lives of Women and Children in Osun, urged the participants to reject and campaign against all forms of SGBV, including rape, wife battering, sexual exploitation, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and other violence towards women and girls.
