…….. Assures on Diligent Enforcement of GBV Prohibition Laws
Wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, has called for the provision of effective Gender Desk officers in all public schools in the state to curb sexual abuse of students and offer the needed counsel to victims.
The First Lady also tasked education authorities in the state to always carry out thorough background checks on teachers being employed into teaching service to prevent innocent students from being sexually abused at school.
Dr. Oyebanji made the call on Tuesday during the first day of her interactive session with male and female students of public schools tagged Baoress Interface With Adolescents Project (BIWAP) held at Mary Immaculate Grammar School, Ado Ekiti for participants drawn from Ekiti Central Senatorial District.
The Governor’s wife distributed brand new schoolbags to all the students who participated in the session to motivate them.
The other two senatorial districts, Ekiti South and Ekiti North would take their turns to host the First Lady’s Interface on Wednesday and Thursday respectively with students from schools in the zones expected to benefit from the scheme.
She described Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as a monster that could mar the future of students noting that rape, attempted rape, sexual molestation, defilement among others, also happen in school environment urging students to be vigilant to avoid falling victim.
Concerned about the situation, she said: “All schools in the state should have Gender Desks to be manned by trained personnel, Gender Desk Officers who will be on ground to assist and counsel students suffering abuses in line with the Ekiti State GBV (Prohibition) Law 2019.”
Dr. Oyebanji said the state government would not relent in diligently invoking and enforcing laws against GBV to ensure that victims get justice and offenders punished, charging students to always speak up and not suffer in silence.
She took time out to reel out penalties against all the offences captured under the Ekiti State GBV (Prohibition) Law 2019 stressing that government would not fold its arm and watch the menace spread like an epidemic.
The Governor’s wife emphasized that majority of perpetrators of GBV including sexual abuse are many at times familiar individuals like parents, guardians, relations, teachers, neighbours, schoolmates, security men, drivers bike riders engaged to convey pupils to schools.
The First Lady also charged the students to be focused on their goals to make a success of their lives, grow their talents and also equip themselves with vocational skills to complement their education stressing that the era of focusing on white-collar jobs is over.
Dr. Oyebanji encouraged the students to be determined to succeed in life urging them to draw inspiration from her experience as a girl who was born and grew up on the streets of Ado Ekiti but faced her studies to become a PhD holder and a senior university academic before becoming the First Lady.
She charged the students to prepare themselves for leadership positions, undergo mentorship, make use of every available opportunity for self development and defy the odds to reach the pinnacle of success irrespective of their backgrounds.
