Skip to main content

Combating Sexual Violence With The Media

Eke van Victor

With the increasing rate of sexual violence and assault on women and the girl child and the relatively increasing rate of injustice in such cases, Hacey Health Initiative, an NGO committed to Women and girl child rights activism has yet again decided to lend its voice to the cry for a clampdown on perpetrators of Sexual assaults and gender-based violence.


Speaking at a Press briefing to mark the flag off of the organization’s campaign in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Rhoda Robinson, the group’s Director for Gender and Development enjoined pressmen and other media practitioners to take the fight against gender-based violence upon themselves and give prominence to cases of sexual violence on their platforms.

Rhoda spoke extensively on ways through which the media can be a powerful tool in the war against sexual assault and emphasized on the fact that there are already enabling laws and policies in place in the country and what is lacking is awareness of these laws and a proper judiciary system.


She further emphasized on the need for preventive reporting, considering the fact that most media houses are too short of staff to follow stories of sexual violations from beginning to the end and spoke of every man’s proximity to potential cases of sexual violence as enough motivation for media practitioners to lend their voices to the campaign. 
“Media people should put themselves in the shoes of those people. If it happens to your sister, how would you feel? You already have this tool; how would you react with it if the person affected is close to you?” She said.

On the blaming of victims of sexual assaults, Rhoda stressed that Media practitioners should understand that the victim is never at fault in any of such cases and that there is no justification for assaults.

She said; “The universal rule is that the victim is never at fault, if I am walking naked, you can beat me that I don’t have home training, but you cannot rape me, because there is no justification for it. And when we start giving excuses it validates the incidence.” 

Prior to the commencement of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which is billed to run from the 25th of November till the 10th of December, Hacey involved staff, volunteers and celebrities in the #ICommitToHer challenge on Social Media uploading videos of themselves affirming their commitment in the fight for the eradication of every form of violence against women and girls.

Hacey is currently working at grassroot levels across the country through community leaders, monarchs, educational institutions and its new ambassadors in the entertainment industry; Grace Edwin Okon, Ngozi Nwosu, Layole Oyatogun and Lisa Omorodion to ensure that its goal of improving the health and productivity of under-served population in Africa is achieved.
_Eke van Victor is a broadcaster, and former radio producer at Max 102.3FM. He is the current President of Laspotech Press Club._‎

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tragic Accident Claims Lives of Two LASUSTECH Students in Ikorodu

By Habeeb Ibrahim, Odeyemi Ibukun and Bisiriyu Hassan The Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu, community is mourning the loss of two of its students following a fatal accident on Saturday  morning at Powerline Junction, before Aleje, inward Ikorodu Roundabout, Lagos. The deceased students have been identified as: Ayomide Jagun , 300 Level, Mechatronics Afọlábí Emmanuel , 200 Level, Banking and Finance (Direct Entry) According to eyewitnesses, the accident involved a sand-laden tipper truck, a Toyota Corolla, a multi-purpose bus, and several tricycles. Preliminary reports indicate that the tipper, reportedly speeding, suffered a brake failure, causing it to collide with other vehicles along the busy road. While initial reports suggested multiple casualties, only the deaths of the two LASUSTECH students and a one SS 3 student of Ikorodu High School have been officially confirmed. The status of other injured individuals is still under veri...
24 comments
Read more

Students Barred from LASUSTECH First Gate Over Safety Concerns

By Habeeb Ibrahim and Adefeso Precious Students of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) were on Monday morning restricted from accessing the campus through the First Gate, tagged as West Gate 1, due to safety concerns. The restriction led to confusion among students, who were subsequently directed by security personnel to use the Second Gate for entry into the campus. Speaking on the development, security officials disclosed that the action followed an incident that occurred around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, when a tension wire was reportedly cut from a pole and fell directly at the entrance of First Gate. According to the security personnel, the fallen wire posed a potential risk of injury, electric shock, or sparks to students and other individuals passing through the gate. As a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and well-being of the campus community, movement through First gate was temporarily suspended, while students were instructed to ac...
1 comment
Read more

LASUSTECH Announces February 13, 2027, for Maiden Convocation

By Adetoyinbo Berachah The Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) has announced February 13, 2027, as the date for its maiden convocation. The announcement was made by the Director of Student Affairs (DSA), Dr. Ademola Aderogba, during the first engagement meeting of the 2025/2026 academic session. The meeting featured the introduction of Heads of Class (HOCs) and representatives from various departments. Dr. Aderogba addressed issues relating to the academic session and outlined expectations for students. He presented an overview of academic results across colleges and departments, noting variations in performance. Students were advised to ensure lecturers are invited for scheduled lectures. According to the DSA, all issues relating to academic results must be resolved before January 27, 2026, when the University Senate will review them. He stated that no further consideration would be given to result-related issues after that date. Students were...
Post a Comment
Read more