NGO seeks end to violence against women, girls

A non-governmental organisation, the Women in Peace and Security Network has expressed dissatisfaction over the increasing level of violence against women and girls in the country.The group, which linked the kidnap of over 200 Chibok girls to gender-based violence againstwomen, urged Nigerians to join the fight against such anti-social behavior.The NGO made its position known on Saturday during a press conference it organized in conjunction with the Rivers State Ministry of Women Affairs to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls.Director of Women Affairs in the ministry, Mrs. Blessing Dienye, who spoke on behalf of the group, stated that the NGO and the ministry had begun a 16-day activism against gender-based violence from November 25 to December 10, 2014.Dienye, who is part of the network’s activities, pointed out that the ministry and the group would be campaigning against domestic violence, child sexual abuse, sexual violence against women and girls during and after conflicts, proliferation of small arms in cases of intimate partner violence among others.With the theme as ‘From peace in the home to peace in the world; let’s challenge militarism and end violence against women and girls,’ Dienye described violence as an anti-social behavior that should be abhorred.