Sexual violence programme expands out into multiple churches in the south of Jos.
Volunteers from 16 churches in Du have become gender champions for their congregations and are now supporting people who are either victims or perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
At the beginning of December leaders from 20 churches in Du, a district in south Jos, attended a one-day workshop that explained the gender champions programme and gave a taster of the training.
Each church was invited to nominate two people – a woman and a man – to become the gender champions for their congregation. Sixteen did so, sending two members to Grace & Light’s three-day training programme in mid-December.
Titled 'Transforming Masculinities', the programme looked at gender and creation, Jesus as a role model for masculinity, root causes and consequences of sexual violence, and SGBV in the bible.
“We included many different interactive activities to help participants understand, open up and share with each other,” said Tassie Ghata, international coordinator. “We knew some would be victims as research shows almost 30 per cent of Nigerian women have experienced physical violence by the time they are 15.”
Champions are now leading small groups of people in their churches, up to eight of the same sex, helping them to see gender equality from the perspective of scripture and to change their own behaviours so they are respectful of themselves and others.
This is the next phase of the SGBV programme that Grace & Light is running in Nigeria. We hope to expand the programme to churches in other Jos districts during 2019.
Our SGBV work began when Tassie and Pofi Josiah attended Tearfund’s five-day SGBV training for leaders in Abuja back in February 2018. Then in March Tassie delivered the programme over three days for members of the Jos volunteer team.
The team has been including elements in churches and schools’ ministry ever since. The first time was in April when they delivered a one-day workshop for 40 church leaders in Du. It gave an overview of the impact sexual and gender-based violence has on communities, plus strategies to help faith leaders respond effectively to the causes of sexual exploitation and abuse.
