Poverty, Drug Abuse Responsible for Increase in Violence, Says Bekeowei, ED Starrz Safety

Mrs Mary Accrah Bekeowei, executive director of Starrz Safety Initiative in this exclusive interview with Victor Oroyi, says poverty and drug abuse responsible for the increase of violence as world commemorates this year’s 16 days of activism. Excerpts;

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What’s the impact of the 16 days of activism in Bayelsa state?

The impact of the 16 days of activism in Bayelsa State helps people to know that the campaign brings the attention of all persons to the issues of Gender Based Violence and the need for all to take actions together to curb it in our state.

The campaign is a call to action, it encourages people to hold decision makers accountable and take actions to end Gender Based Violence. As this year’s theme implies, it brings attention to us all that we need to invest in the girl child and women too.

We should try to bring education to the women, healthcare and sanitation. For us to achieve this, we need to have policies and reforms such that there is protection for the girl child in the society and perpetrators of violence on girls and women must be punished, must be made to face the full wrath of the law to serve as a lesson to others in the state.

To the women and girls, please speak up, violence should never be swept under the carpet for any reason. Gender Based Violence must come to an end in our state. Please call someone to assist you when you see these violence around you.

Let us all stop the perpetrators from continuing this evil act. Do something to end Gender Based Violence!

Based on this year’s theme, how can state actors and non-state actors meet set goals in Bayelsa?

Speaking on this year’s theme, it emphasizes coming together, unity and investment to ensure that the girl child and women must be protected from violence. This year’s theme is focused on unite, invest to protect the girl child from Gender Based Violence.

We say invest in the girl child by educating her, invest in women by sensitizing them on how to take care of her girl child. Invest in women by empowering her with entrepreneurship skills to take care of herself. Invest in women by ensuring that they have access to qualitative healthcare, that pregnant women can assess healthcare, the girl child that is raped or molested can have health services too.

Most importantly, we also need to invest by teaching children about Gender Based Violence, the need for them to protect their private parts from being touched indiscriminately by anyone.

What’s your assessment of the campaign against violence against woman and children in Bayelsa?

My opinion on this campaign is this, Gender Based Violence has eaten deep into our society, affecting many women and girls so there is a need to take this campaign seriously to let more persons know that we do not accept it.

We need to let women and girls know that they should speak up against any form of violence so that it can be curbed and reduced in Bayelsa State.

What are factors responsible for the spate of violence in Bayelsa?

We all know that poverty is something that should never be part of human existence, no one likes poverty but Bayelsa has a lot of people living in poverty. Poverty is one of the factors causing an increase in violence. Poverty is making young people to do things they are not suppose to do and this leads to violence against women and girls.

Drug abuse is another factor, when young boys take drugs, they have a high tendency to misbehave. Alcoholism is also affects young people, it makes them become violent, beating their partners and even children. Some of these results into rape cases.

Tell us some success stories on the Starzz Initiative since it’s inception?

Starrz Safety Initiative has recorded some numbers of cases of Gender Based Violence and we have collaborated with various agencies, NGOS, government, the police, medical women association, FIDA Bayelsa State to ensure that all the rape cases of children and others that were reported to us we were able to handle it.

Cases of molestations at home, violence in homes, child abuse, maltreatment and abandonment, we have handled those cases, collaborating with FIDA, NAWOJ, Medical Women Association, Ministry of Women Affairs, the State Police Command and others to do this work. We have handled several cases ranging from rape, violence , molestations, defilement and others. We have succeeded in rescuing many persons in Bayelsa State.

Also, we have been sensitizing people on the rights of women, policies, holding town hall meetings to speak to people about policies, reforms and generally creating awareness on Gender Based Violence, for girls and women to know that GBV is bad and there is a channel where the perpetrator can be reported and punished.

We have done so much, going to schools to teach young people and children about their private parts and the need to protect them, we have done so much and have worked so hard to protect our women and the girl child in the state.

Poverty, Drug Abuse Responsible for Increase in Violence, Says Bekeowei, ED Starrz Safety — Mrs Mary Accrah Bekeowei, Executive Director Starrz Safety Initiative

You recently held a sensitization program with women at Opolo market, what’s the impact?

Yes, we went to Opolo market to sensitize the women on the 16 days of Activism. 16 days of Activism is a time where we have to go to different places, residents, markets, schools, town hall meetings, villages and communities to campaign that the girl child and women must be protected.

Gender Based Violence must be eliminated totally from our environment. We need to tell people that women are not punching bags for any man, women are supposed to be protected, women are supposed to access education they way men have access to education.

Women are supposed to be at the center of affairs to decide , to make decisions like their male counterpart, that is why we are campaigning in these 16 days of Activism. Also, we went to tell the women that if there is anything happening such as violence in their homes, schools or in the market, there is a channel to report such cases. It is not just about reporting, also, we let them know that there is punishment for such perpetrator. Our colour is orange, Orange the World and our theme says, Unite, Invest to protect the girl child and woman from Gender Based Violence.

The Opolo market women were very excited to hear us, they listened to the message.

Starrz Safety Initiative is not going to stop here, we would continue this campaign, we are going to schools, sensitize people on the social media to create more awareness on the 16 days of Activism which started on the 25th of November till the 10th of December. We are not going to keep quiet, we would continue to campaign that gender based violence must be reduced and stopped in Bayelsa State.

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