Mr Sonny Ogbuehi, Country Programme Director, West Africa Solidarity Centre, opined that about 57 per cent of women have experienced Gender Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) in Nigeria.
Ogbuehi disclosed this on Monday at an Integrated Coalition workshop organized by the Centre and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja.
The theme of the workshop is “Towards strengthening networks among individuals, communities and institutions to address discrimination and Gender Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) in the World of Work”.
He said the figure was obtained from research conducted by the Solidarity Centre and the NLC on the GBVH.
According to him, one of the astonishing things is that 57 per cent of women have been subjected to harassment at work and even rape.
He added that the informal sector had the highest prevalence rate of GBVH of about 61 percent out of the 57 percent.
Ogbuehi said the workshop was apt considering the cases of harassment and rape recorded in the world of work in Nigeria and the need to make workplace safe for all.
He added that the workshop was expected to cause a drastic change in the society for difficult reasons such as culture, religion among others.
He however, said that it would take more than a labor center to cause that change and achieve the desired result.
Ogbeche further called on the government, civil society, faith based organizations and traditional rulers to join hands to fight against the scourge of GBVH.
“This is because a concerted effort is needed from all to come up with a plan to address this problem,” he said.
Moreover, Ogbuehi further urged the Nigeria government to ensure total implementation and enforcement of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 190 which protects women in the World of Work.
Also, the former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Employment and Job creation, Mrs Tilda Mmgwa, said the programme was apt because once a woman is violated, it affects the whole family.
Mmgwa added that a woman was central to the development and growth of the family and that there must be a consented effort to protect her.
