Chioma Umeha
Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), a
non-profit organization established to prevent and intervene on the prevalence
of sexual violence/rape, has announced results from the first session of its
new initiative called the WARIF Boys Conversation Cafe. This initiative is
designed to educate young boys between the ages of 12-16, on the prevalence of
sexual violence in Nigeria, to change perception and behavioral pattern that
exist amongst these group of boys, on violence against women.
The WARIF Boys Conversation Café took informal
dialogue sessions with cohort groups of secondary school boys, where vetted
male volunteers were recruited from different organizations to serve as mentors
/role models at these café sessions.
At the end of first session with students of
Surulere secondary school, the WARIF Boys Conversation Café, recorded an
outstanding outcome with 98% of the beneficiaries strongly agreeing to take a
stand in any case of sexual abuse rather than just be bystanders. 85% of the
boys strongly agreed that CONSENT of a girl to have sex is important and should
be respected. Further results of the project also showed that the use of banned
drugs like Tramadol and Codeine dropped by a whopping 66%.
Dr. DaSilva- Ibru, Founder of WARIF, speaking
about the initiative said “On the issue of gender based violence in Nigeria,
there are no existing curriculums in schools that directly address these topics
for boys.
A lot of attention is given to women and girls to
protect themselves against sexual abuse as opposed to teaching boys and men not
to become perpetrators of sexual violence. With the introduction of this
initiative, we intend to change the existing attitudes and behavior of young
boys on the topic of rape and sexual violence. Through mentoring and education, we can change the narrative
of these young men who will then grow up to become productive members of their
communities”
The goal for us at WARIF is to reduce sexual based
violence related issues and it is important to involve the boys in this
process. Ultimately, we want a society where better boys are raised and become
men who understand that sexual violence is an issue that we must all fight
against”
Commenting further about the Boys’ Conversation
Café, Mrs. Lola Vivour Adeniyi, Coordinator of Domestic and Sexual Violence
Response Team Lagos (DSVRT) said “At DSVRT we believe strongly in positive
masculinity. We found that unconsciously, we put a lot of awareness on girls
and how we can protect them, teaching them how to be safe, and how they can
protect themselves from sexual abuse. But we usually leave the boys behind,
which should not be the case, as statistics have shown that it is mostly boys
who grow to be perpetrators of abuse, and they also get sexually abused too.
So, we are excited about the WARIF Boys’
Conversation Café, and we will be partnering with WARIF to cascade these café
conversations across the 6 education districts in Lagos. ” she added.
WARIF is also encouraging a call to action for
everyone to raise their voices against rape and sexual violence of young girls
and women in Nigeria and Africa. Parents should ensure that they teach their
sons about sexual behavior, and the importance of controlling sexual impulses.
WARIF has also introduced several initiatives such
as the WARIF Centre, WARIF Educational School program, WARIF Know your
community, WARIF Gatekeepers initiative and the WARIF through the Arts initiative.
