Cross River deputy governor wants end to abuse, violence against women

Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Professor Ivara Esu, has advocated an end to abuse and violence against women in the country.

He stated this when members of the Spotlight Initiative Team to eliminate violence against women and the girl child in Nigeria visited him at Government House, Calabar.

He described the Spotlight Initiative’s move as a wake up call for men who still abuse their wives, daughters and sisters to end the act immediately.

A statement from the Deputy Governor’s office said Esu was delighted that of eight African countries, Nigeria was chosen to carry out Spotlight Initiative and Cross River State was also chosen among five states to pioneer its activities.

Esu expressed the hope that early child-marriage, female genital mutilation and girl child slavery would be put to an end through the activities of the Initiative and United Nations (UN) agencies.

He assured that government would continue to support the Spotlight Initiative to enable it to achieve its objectives.

On his part, Team Lead and Programme Director, Head Office, Calabar, Kenneth Ihouzu, said the Spotlight Initiative was a Global Partnership between the United Nations and the European Union (EU) to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in support of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda.

He disclosed that Nigeria has been selected as one of the priority countries for Africa, together with Liberia, Niger, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Mali, with focus on eliminating sexual and gender-based violence, harmful practices and addressing sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Speaking, Commissioner for International Cooperation, Dr. Inyang Asibong, said the Spotlight Initiative in Nigeria was currently being implemented in five states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), while in Cross River it was lunched in July 2019 with the focus to eliminate violence against women and girls.