Stakeholders Commend OCI Foundation On Bill For Teaching SGBV In Schools

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By Ayomikun Fulani

SGBV bill passes second reading at the Nigerian NASS, as the OCI Foundation And Associates push for its mandatory meeting in school curriculum

(Bill referred to relevant Committee for further Legislative Action).

Stakeholders and major players in the Education sector have commended the Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora (OCI) Foundation, as well as Prof. Julius O. Ihonvbere OON, over the initiative to introduce a Bill seeking Mandatory inclusion of preventive teachings and conceptual appreciation on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) into the Curriculum of secondary schools in Nigeria. Prof Ihonvbere is the Chairman, House Committee on Basic Education and Services, and represents the Owan Federal Constituency in the Nigerian National Assembly (NASS).

The Bill passed Second Reading on July 27, 2022. When passed into law, it will provide a platform that will sustainably tackle the increasing issues of sexual and gender-based violence and its related offenses, in Nigeria.

This SGBV Bill is being championed by Vivian Obinwa, a female, Abuja-based lawyer, who is also the OCI Foundation’s Legal Research Assistant and Liaison Officer to the NASS. Ms Obinwa is a social justice and sustainable development enthusiast, whose passion gravitates towards advocacy for Child/Women protection and development.

This SGBV Bill is the second piece of legislation that has been successfully pushed through this stage by the OCI Foundation, an international (Australian-Nigerian) NGO that promotes Health, Education, and Social/Public Welfare among Nigerians. The First Bill, which also passed Second Reading in July 2022, seeks to include teachings against breast and cervical cancers into the curriculum of all senior secondary schools in Nigeria, successfully, has gone through second reading in the House of Representatives.

Speaking after the passage of the SGBV Bill, Ms. Obinwa said that she was inspired by the results and feedback from several schools and community advocacy sensitization programs she had personally championed in the past regarding SGBV.

Obinwa added that her passion for this project was part of the reasons why she volunteered for an organization like the OCI Foundation International, which has allowed her to collaborate with the Nigerian National Orientation Agency (NOA), thereby expanding her reach on the SGBV. She also volunteers for the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Nigeria) Abuja and the Child and Youth Protection Foundation (CYPF), both of which she has collaborated with, on the SGBV project.