Remarks by President Margee Ensign at the kick-off of AUN’s participation in the 16-days of Activism Against gender-based Violence against Women and Girls, November 25, 2021
There is a common denominator here about working for gender-based violence and gender equality. When we started thinking about our school of law the founder gave us very specific directions. He said it has to be different. It must focus on gender equity. Today when we talk about these very important and difficult issues, we should honour him too. Because we are the first law school who has said gender equity and working on these issues is critically important for the future of the country. So, on his birthday, we honour him too for that vision. Today we launch 16 days of activism for violence against women and girls. It began in 1991 and is celebrating its 40th year. It was established by the women global leaders institute. And since 1991 over 6000 organizations and 187 countries reaching about 3 million people have participated in this campaign to increase awareness, advocacy, create opportunities for discussions but to really focus on solutions which is the most important thing. The president of our leadership council has eloquently talked about these issues as a global issue against mostly women and girls. I want to honour her and her leadership and all the other women who have contributed to our understanding of these issues and who are working to prevent violence against women. Very recently in Nigeria the UNFPA with support from the Norwegian government found that 28% of Nigerian women aged 25- 29 have experienced some form of violence since they were 15 years old. The study also shows that 15% of women have also experienced physical violence within 12 months preceding the survey. Last year the level of exposure to violence varied depending on marital status. 44 of divorced, separated or widowed women have reported violence while 20% of married women have experienced and reported violence. This is a big issue we all need to be working on. The most common form of gender-based violence in Nigeria includes sexual harassment, physical violence, harmful traditional practices, emotional and physiological violence and violence against noncombatant women in security situations. AUN as Africa's First Development University has been at the forefront of these issues for a long time. With our focus on safeguarding against sexual harassment as you learn last week, we are the first in the country to establish this anonymous whistleblowing platform. We will continue to focus on these issues in education, advocacy and most importantly on solutions to end violence against women and girls particularly with our development project in the state and the country.