CSO builds capacity, cautions Ebonyi students against social media relationships

A non-governmental organization, Women’s Rights and Health Project (WRAHP) has embarked on training of secondary and tertiary education students in Ebonyi state.

 

The one-day training on ‘Technology Facilitated Sexual and Gender-based Violence’ was aimed at mitigating the rising negative effects of technology driven crimes against young people and adolescents.

 

The training was held Thursday at Abakaliki High School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.

 

The expected outcome was equipping the young people with the requisite knowledge about the menace and how to avoid falling victims.

 

Participants in the training numbering about 50 were drawn from seven secondary schools in three local government areas of Ebonyi North senatorial district: Abakaliki, Ebonyi and Izzi, plus Ebonyi State University.

 

Speaking during the event, the Programme Officer, Women’s Right and Health Project (WRAHP), Ebonyi State, Dr. Sarah Chima, explained that the organization was motivated to embark on the Programme by the happenings in society: how people are regularly molested on line and foully treated with all kinds of sexual and gender based violence.

 

She decried the rising incidence of deaths and other fatalities arising from sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria, and emphasized that the advent of, and widespread use of information technology facilities has greatly heightened the menace.

 

Chima noted: “Because this is rampant, and people are suffering it, we deemed it necessary to come up with this programme so that children, especially school aged, can know things about it and the ways to exonerate themselves from falling victims.

 

“Adolescents and school children are the vulnerable group, and that’s why they are our primary target.

 

Chima explained that WRAHP is an innovative Nongovernmental, not-for-profit organisation focusing mainly on women, girls and young people, working towards ensuring that people are free from violence.

 

The resource persons for the event and Ebonyi State Coordinator, Gender-based violence taskforce, Barr. Faithvin Nwanchor, in her presentation encouraged the students to speak out in any case of sexual and gender-based violence against them.

 

Nwanchor who is also the Head, Sexual and Gender-based violence response department in the State Ministry of Justice enjoined participants to avoid exposing themselves unduly to social media and to avoid social media relationships with unknown persons irrespective of the person’s sex.

 

She enumerated stalking, sex chatting, social media account hacking among others, as danger signs signaling involvement in TFSGBV.

 

“Today, there are lots of cyber crime issues going on in society, mostly targeted against young people who, most times unknowingly fall victim to these crimes.

 

“We have lost a lot of them to suicide, depression, mental and emotional illnesses, mainly because they were not informed of the dangers in throwing themselves into technologically driven relationships.

 

“We are here to tell them that they can save themselves from this menace by not unduly exposing themselves to social media.

 

 

Informing the students that there was available help for those who speak up, Nwanchor assured that the GBV taskforce in the state was ever committed to the cause of steming the practice in all its manifestations.

 

Some of the participants including a Senior secondary 2 students, Miss Iruka Nwakpa, and her SS 3 counterpart, Emmanuel Ereke, from Annunciation Secondary school and Abakaliki High school respectively, commended the initiative.

 

They stressed that the training has opened their eyes and enriched their knowledge on issues around technology and sexual and gender-based violence.

 

They pledged to step down the training to their peers and fellow students.

 

Nwakpa said: ” I feel very happy being here.

 

“This is my first time of attendings a seminar and I have learnt a lot I didn’t know before now.

 

“When I go back to my school, I will enlighten my fellow students who do not know anything about the dangers of technology facilitated SGBV.

 

Interacting with newsmen, one of the teachers from Model Comprehensive Secondary School, Ndiachi, Ebonyi local government area, Mrs Ezinne Chima, assured that she would leverage on existing platforms in her school to promote the knowledge among students.

 

“As a teacher, we have various mediums through which we reach out to the students: our morning devotions, moral instructions classes, health clubs, among others.

 

“We will leverage on these channels for them to sensitize, not only their fellow students but their peers in communities around the school.”

 

The training featured question and answer sessions and student’s group work.