The Systemic Prevalence Of Sexualized Violence Plaguing - amazonia.fiocruz.br

The Systemic Prevalence Of Sexualized Violence Plaguing Video

But something shifted in her. She became aggressive, particularly towards men, and her boss at the time noticed. Concerned, he called her into his Violende one day to ask what the matter was. And he said he was going to reach out to them to get in touch with me. That marked the beginning of a three-week over-the-phone therapy session with STER. STER is a youth-led non-governmental organisation that advocates against sexual violence and works directly with survivors of sexual and gender abuse, providing them with psychosocial support.

Five years ago, Violejce Osowobi, founder and executive director of STER, established the organization in response to what she describes as a gap in sexual violence prevention and response in Nigeria. But even with these few organisations in place, a prevailing culture of silence facilitated by victim-blaming, shaming, and scepticism meant that sexual assault victims rarely spoke up or came forward to seek help. STER has helped to address that, in a way. One The Systemic Prevalence Of Sexualized Violence Plaguing the organization has succeeded at is creating an active and engaging social media presence that galvanises people Playuing share their stories of sexual assault and report cases to them directly.

STER often responds swiftly with an intake form that requests primary answers regarding a case. Offline, STER representatives go into communities to sensitise people on rape, sexual violence and assault and then collate data from affected persons. STER recorded cases via its intake form last year. Depending on the case, STER helps to provide medical support by referring survivors to organisations like the Women at Risk International Foundation or the Mirabel centre. Both are non-profit sexual assault referral centres based in Lagos.

User account menu

For cases outside Lagos, STER representatives accompany survivors to a public healthcare centre to be examined, tested, and treated. The organization covers the cost of the expenses. If the survivor is willing to press charges, STER advocates for the prosecution The Systemic Prevalence Of Sexualized Violence Plaguing the case and provides legal assistance. Last year, STER provided legal support for 55 cases of sexual violence reported to them. In the period that she underwent therapy, Ade was thinking a lot, had consistent panic attacks and struggled to keep her emotions in check.

She avoided click here in contact with people as much as she could, her therapy sessions with the counsellor from STER were the only other consistent thing in her life, besides the panic attacks. She was experiencing double trauma and was deeply depressed. The daily over-the-phone therapy sessions with a stranger she had never met, saved her life. Commonly known as WARIFthe organisation has a standalone health facility that offers immediate medical attention including forensic medical examinations and operations to rape victims.

Navigation menu

WARIF also offers laboratory tests for sexually transmitted diseases and administer post-HIV and post-pregnancy drugs within a hour window. As a public healthcare worker in Lagos years ago, Dr. And so she started to help these women in her capacity as an obstetrician and gynaecologist by offering her services to sexual assault referral organizations and facilities pro bono for over seven years. In the course of offering these services, Dr. One was the case of a two-year-old that had been raped by her father. Upon a closer look at the latter case, Dr. Dasilva realised that the little girl was in her third trimester Plauing had no idea she was pregnant.

Elsewhere on Ventures

And for me to do that, I needed a vehicle. During her time working in public healthcare, Dr. Dasilva also observed that healthcare workers lacked the necessary sensitivity training required to handle cases of sexual violence. So in setting up her foundation, Dr. Dasilva put in place a hour confidential helpline as a first point of contact to survivors of sexual violence who cannot physically reach the centre or those who simply want the anonymity of calling.

In the last two years, over calls have been received on the helpline, according to data provided by the organization. WARIF tackles sexual and gender-based violence through three core strategies; healthcare service, community outreach, and educational programmes. Community outreaches include what is described as the Gatekeepers Project. This project involves an annual training of traditional birth attendants TBAs from selected rural and peri-urban communities on the signs and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, equipping them with the necessary tools to address this issue in the communities where they serve.]