….As WRAPH networks other 30 CSOs to amplify voices for justice
By Ebunoluwa Sessou,
To achieve an increased strategic awareness of the barriers experienced by female SGBV survivors with disabilities, the Women’s Rights and Health Project, WRAHP recently organized a panel session among 30 high-level representatives from formal justice institutions and relevant service providers across Lagos, Nigeria.
The organization also put up a documentary to show the plights of Persons With Disabilities, PWDs, to spotlight the pains and agony they experience on a daily basis.
From rejections to domestic and sexual violence, hatred, and stigmatization among others, the PWDs in the documentary did not fail to tell their stories on how society had dealt with them.
Telling her story, Akala Adenike, a 200Level student of the University of Lagos studying Education Foundation in Guidance and Counseling, lamented the enormous challenges every PWD goes through on a daily basis.
“The pains I and every other PWDs pass-through cannot be quantified. Starting from the lecture room to the hostel, the community and even at home.
“I used to have challenges with trying to meet up with the lectures, especially when our lecturers are dictating to us. Most of the time, I am always forced to borrow books from my classmates to complete notebooks. Even on the street, the story is frustrating. Most people are hostile to us”, she lamented.
Franca Anaedum, the mother of a 27years old person with an intellectual disability, urged parents to love and accept their children.
The societal influence on the child starts from the home. If a parent does not accept the child, outsiders will not either”, she said.
Speaking on how her organization is creating awareness, the Executive Director, Women’s Rights and Health Project, WRAHP, Bose Ironsi, disclosed WRAPH, is geared towards promoting women and community health by equipping, mobilizing and actively engaging members of the community as an agent of social change through information sharing, capacity building and advocacy.
The project was supported by African Women Development Funds, AWDF, was themed High-Level Stakeholders Meeting on Strengthening the Leadership of Women and Persons With Disabilities for Effective Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, SGBV, Response and Access to Justice.
Ironsi explained that there is a need to integrate persons with disability into SGBV response; adding that amplifying the voices of the vulnerability group for access to justice should be everyone’s duty.
“WRAPH conducted an analysis of the vulnerability of persons with disabilities; it highlighted the need to amplify the voices of the vulnerability group for access to justice.
“In 2019, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, DSVA recorded a total of 1,860 cases of domestic and sexual violence of these, 91 percent involved women. From available data, women and girls with disabilities are at three times greater risk of suffering physical, sexual and economic abuse.
Josephine Omolola, Vice Chairperson, Joint Association of Persons With Disability, PLWD, Lagos State Chapter, spoke on the need to highlight the plights of PLWD and proffer solutions.
“There is a need for data capturing on the record taken at the onset of caregiver facility to be able to ascertain the type of disabilities especially with the medical personnel so as to know the type of assistance to be given to that particular person.
“There should be a medical carved out unit both in Lagos Office for Disability Affairs and Ministry of Women Affairs. They are the agencies responsible for persons with diverse abilities. There should be experienced personnel to liaise with other personnel to assist persons with disability on admission. If the unit is incorporated, it will be easier to attend to the people on time.
“Lagos state government should organize quarterly health fairs freely for PWDs, especially with both intellectual and albinism and this will enable them to feel the impact of the government.
“This health fair will involve therapists, physiotherapists, dermatologists, vision specialists among others and there will be an opportunity for the people with disability to be attended to freely”, she said.
On her part, Olajumoke Otutoloju, Project Coordinator, Iyaniwura Children Care Foundation and Advocate, Rights of Persons with These Abilities, pointed out that, Disability is an untapped sector within the economy adding that, when the state of the nation taps into the disability economy, it flourishes.
“If you have people with a disability in decision making, it will help people to function adequately in the society.
“Ability is a phenomenon word that has so many meanings but to me, it is the way of life for certain groups of people and we must respect their rights.
“We must respect who they are and give them opportunities to live in a society like every other person. They go through lots of stigmatization and discrimination, and most especially gender-based violence because of their disability.
“People take advantage of who they are and in my organization, we teach diversity in such a way that we fine tune the mindset of the society.
“Our cultural mindset about disability is pathetic and it is time for people to respect these people. It is a cultural mindset.
“Culture is diverse, it is difficult to change but we will keep clamouring and creating the awareness that people with disability are like everyone.
“They need to function in society, they have the brain, and their body image does not affect their intelligence. We have emotional, social intelligence to promote the economy of the country.
Also, Tinuke Odukoya, Centre for Women’s Health and Information, CEWHIN, urged everyone to play her role. “It is important that everyone plays his or her role. The agency that is concerned with people with disability should be empowered to do all that is expected of it.
“Every one of us in our different spaces needs to create awareness around people living with disabilities. Various sectors in the society need to feel the pulse of living with Disabilities”, she said.
Aderonke Oyelakin, Child Protection Network, “Many children are faced with challenges of shelter. There are limited shelters and the support is limited. There is a need for parents to protect their children from gender-based violence.
Representative of the ministry of women affairs, Olorunfemi Oluwatomi, noted that the ministry is working with PWDs in Lagos State for inclusive governance. “There is a special slot forpeople with Disabilities”, she noted.
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