PORTHARCOURT— A leading industrialist and philanthropist, Dr. Seinye Lulu-Briggs, has stated that combatting Gender-Based Violence, GBV, and placing it at the core of its development agenda will help Nigeria meet the growth challenges of the 21st century.

Dr Lulu-Briggs, speaking at an event by African Women Lawyers Association, AWLA, in Rivers State, to commemorate the 2023 Pan African Women’s Day and 16 Days of Activism to end gender-based violence, she said: “Gender-based violence is among African women’s most vexing challenges in the 21st century. During the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of gender-based violence increased across the world. 

In Africa, the pandemic eroded women’s and girls’ hard-won accumulation of human capital, voice, agency and economic empowerment built over international development concerted efforts over the past three decades.” 

She lamented that despite most African countries ratifying the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Union’s Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, they have not translated into widespread improvements in the lives of African women. 

“African women face challenges accessing land, credit, education, and healthcare. Gender-based violence remains alarmingly prevalent, with significant economic costs,” she added.