The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (CentreLSD) has announced its readiness to train key stakeholders on how to secure communities against acts of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in Sankwala, Becheve, and Calabar areas of Cross River State, Nigeria.

Development Diaries learnt that CentreLSD will focus its efforts on traditional rulers, religious clerics, and youth leaders within the aforementioned communities.

Senior Programme Officer at the centre, Vincent Dania, in a signed statement, said that the objective of the training was to build the capacity of religious and traditional leaders towards advocating the implementation of legislation and policies on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

With influence within their communities, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and youth leaders play vital roles in advocating and driving mobilisation initiatives to address violence, social vices, and the maintenance of law and order.

Engaging these stakeholders, therefore, is key towards achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women in Nigeria.

The training, which is part of the centre’s activities towards the implementation of the Male Engagement component of the Spotlight Initiative Project in Lagos and Cross River States, is designed to equip participants with skills to enable them to identify resources within their communities to tackle violence against women and girls and other harmful practices.

Dania urged citizens of the public to be more proactive towards ending all forms of violence against women and girls.

Source: CentreLSD