A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Women’s Health and Information, CEWHIN, has called for the implementation of policies that prevent gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities.

CEWHIN lamented that women with disabilities were being excluded from GBV sensitisation programmes, saying the response structure for women and girls with disabilities must also be improved upon.

Rising from a town hall meeting in Lagos, Programmes Officer of CEWHIN, Pamela Stephen, stressed the need for inclusion, saying female PWDs must be included in everything that society does.

According to her, the world is evolving, “and over time, we have seen that a lot of people carry out activities or do things without considering persons with disabilities, especially women and girls with disabilities.”

Pamela said: “People see them as abnormal, but they are not abnormal. Like everyone else, they have human rights. Therefore, it is the responsibility of everybody, the government or the community leaders to cater to them. It is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that we have and live in a society devoid of violence, devoid of sexual and gender-based violence on women and girls, especially women and girls with disabilities.

“Statistics have shown that the majority of the victims of SGBV are women and girls. That is not to say that men are not included. But women and girls are the ones that are at the receiving end. They are the ones against whom most of these injustices are being perpetrated.

“First, people need to be aware of what gender-based violence GBV is. A lot of people don’t even know what gender-based violence is. When people are informed, they understand what the impact and implications of gender-based violence are. Not just on themselves, but also on women and girls with disabilities.”

On his part, Secretary-General of the Lagos State Association of the Deaf, Kingsley Njoku, said: “We have to speak out against SGBV, especially against people living with disability. We need to change the mindset of persons who are facing this type of crime. In our community, many people are facing this type of issue of gender-based violence, sexual abuse, trafficking, and harassment.

“So, we must come together and speak out and tell the government what to do to protect our people. As a society, we have the right to fight for our people. In advanced countries, they are looking for ways to change the narrative. We also need to change the narrative in our country.

“We have the office of civil society here in Lagos state. They are doing their very best to make sure persons that are abused are known and they offer them services to come and present their case. But it’s not enough. Our government needs to help the community, especially the grassroots people.

“For example, we have market women. People from different backgrounds come here. If the government should organise a programme like this or a town hall meeting, it will go a long way to help people like us. It gives the government an idea of how to tackle the issue of gender-based violence.

“The government is doing well but they need to do more. They need to collaborate with organisations and groups that are fighting to stop this social issue. The government has the responsibility to formulate policy, and make laws. And also ensure that this law is implemented.”