Given the spate of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in our society, it is now clear that the way to keep the girl child safe is by keeping the boy child safe.
In a talk show organised by Executive Director of Mother Of Good Counsel Initiative (MOGCI), Mrs Doris Onyeneke, the need for a paradigm shift in curbing sexual and gender-based violence was highlighted.
“As an organization that works towards empowering the girl child, we have always been faced with the challenge of providing an answer to this regular question but how about the boy child?”, Mrs. Onyeneke asked.
Mrs Onyeneke maintained that the need for interventions to train and mentor the boy child cannot be overemphasized as their growth and emotional stability remain crucial not only for their own well-being but also for girls, women and society at large.
She noted that there have been campaigns and programmes aimed at empowering the girl child adding that such efforts were in order and the impacts felt in the society.
She however observed that while pushing to make her space safe, the fact that the ‘boy child’ still forms an entire population of people who may not desire to make her space safe is often times ignored.
Acknowledging that women can and have always done it alone for centuries,she pointed out that the absence of men in the fight against all forms of gender-based violence has made the progress slow.
The MOGCI executive director called on everyone to jointly save the boys in order to make the girls safe adding that her organization has shifted perspective towards engaging the boys in reducing sexual and gender -based violence.
