DEVELOPING A GBV REFERRAL PROTOCOL
CONSULTATIVE DIALOGUE WITH STAKEHOLDERS ON DEVELOPING A GBV REFERRAL PROTOCOL
With the advances in women’s rights around the world, violence against women and girls remains one of the most pervasive human rights abuse, and its occurrence in the home or by an intimate partner is its most prevalent form. Considering the prevalence of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country and also commemorating this year’s 16 days of activism with theme on Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!. WILPF Nigeria with support from SIDA (Sweden International Development Agency) with the goal of reducing forms of GBV and providing support to survivors identified the need to have a functional GBV Referral Protocol that will be piloted in the state which formed the background of the consultative dialogue held with stakeholders in the state.
WILPF Nigeria had a one day stakeholders meeting on the 29thof November 2021 in Enugu State with meeting objectives on
• Raise awareness on the need for GBV coordinated response and protocol.
• Identify key/emerging issues and recommendations that will later form the framework for developing te protocol in the state.
• To drive collective ownership of the design and implementation process.
The program officer for WILPF Nigeria took the participants through basic terms associated with GBV to strengthen understanding on why the GBV protocol is key to the situation in the state and also as it will help in stakeholders identifying and in designing the referral protocol for the state given the peculiar forms of violence that exist in the state. Following her introduction, the country director of WILPF Nigeria, Prof. Joy Onyesoh took the participants on what a GBV referral protocol is all about, a referral pathway, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in mitigating GBV etc. The participants were shared into a group for a group work section this was to help in the design of the GBV referral protocol.
