Health
ACADI Calls For Holistic, Faith-based Action To Eradicate GBV In Nigeria
By Philomina Attah
The Anglican Compassion and Development Initiative (ACADI) says Gender-Based Violence (GBV) remains deeply rooted in Nigerian culture, requiring deliberate action and holistic strategies by faith-based organisations to eradicate the scourge.
Chairman of the ACADI Governing Council, Prof. Adesegun Farusi, made the assertion during a dialogue session titled “Dialogue to Action: Advocating GBV Prevention and Advancing Organisational Sustainability” on Monday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ACADI, the faith-based arm of the Anglican Church, has over the years rolled out GBV prevention programmes across Anglican dioceses and their host communities.
The work is under “CON PREVENT GBV,” a nationwide Church of Nigeria project responding to GBV, one of Nigeria’s most common human rights violations.
In spite of progress in awareness, harmful social norms, weak support systems, and limited capacity remain major challenges.
NAN reports that ACADI is addressing these gaps through targeted, faith-driven interventions.
Farusi said that, as a Christian organisation operating within society, ACADI recognised that GBV also occurred within church communities, stressing that faith institutions must confront the reality directly rather than ignore it.
”Gender-based violence is something that is culturally rooted in our country. And ACADI, being a Christian organisation working in this kind of environment, recognises that the church stays within society.
”Therefore, gender-based violence happens in churches across the world. Sometimes, the challenge is that when you discuss GBV in church communities, people are surprised. But the Bible is about truth, and Christians are about truth,” Farusi said.
He emphasised that ACADI’s primary mandate was to enforce zero tolerance for GBV within the church, adding that significant milestones had been achieved within the Anglican Communion.
According to him, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) is among the few religious institutions with a written policy explicitly prohibiting GBV, alongside established reporting and response mechanisms.
”All our bishops and their wives have been trained on GBV issues. We have integrated GBV prevention into the curriculum of our theological schools and embedded GBV topics into our regular Bible studies.
”Our biggest hurdle, however, remains tackling this holistically as a young organisation with limited resources, especially as we provide legal, medical, and psychosocial support to survivors,” Farusi said.
Highlighting the five-year journey of the initiative, Farusi stressed the need to transition from goodwill-driven operations to robust institutional systems to guarantee organisational sustainability.
”Decisive action by a committed group of people is all that is needed to change the world.
“ACADI has evolved from a single-focus project on drug abuse prevention into a multi-faceted drive covering GBV, community evangelism, and health interventions,” he added.
Also speaking, a keynote speaker at the event, Mrs Nneka Onyia, called for enhanced synergy between legal practitioners, faith leaders, and civil society to address the root causes of domestic and societal violence.
Onyia, who is also a legal practitioner and wife of the Bishop of Nike Diocese, delivered an address on “Strengthening Multi-Sectoral Collaboration for Effective GBV Prevention.”
”GBV stems from systemic gender inequality and unequal power dynamics. It is a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination.
”We need a strong synergy between the law and morals. Prevention starts with education in the home, raising children who fear God and understand human rights,” Onyia said.
She further cautioned against cultural stereotypes that exacerbate psychological trauma and physical abuse within domestic settings, advocating strict legal enforcement against perpetrators to serve as a deterrent.
In a goodwill message, Mrs Angela Ndukuba, President of the Mothers’ Union and Women’s Guild, reiterated the commitment of Anglican women to GBV advocacy and child protection.
Represented by Mrs Blessing Jerry-Marcus, Ndukuba disclosed that sensitisation programmes are actively being stepped down across archdeaconries to help families identify signs of abuse, domestic violence, and substance abuse among young people. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Funmilayo Adeyemi