As part of its quarterly learning session, Ford Foundation (West Africa) in collaboration with African Women on Board (AWB) convened a virtual discussion on gender-based violence in Nigerian workplaces. The event which was held on Thursday, December 3, 2020 also commemorated the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based violence.

The objectives of the learning session were to,

• Understand and identify gender-based violence in the workplace.

• Demystify the power dynamics that enable and exacerbate gender-based violence in the workplace.

•  Proffer solutions (legal and social) to ending or curbing the phenomenon in the workplace.

• Identify existing legal and institutional frameworks that protect, support, and ensure justice for women and girls, and also ensures punishment for the perpetrator.

The full learning session can be viewed for free on AWB’s YouTube channel HERE.

The event which was moderated by Olufunke Baruwa, Program Officer, Ford Foundation West Africa had the following speakers: Nkiru Balonwu – Chair, African Women on Board; Habiba Balogun – Organizational effectiveness consultant; Stephanie Linus-Okereke – Actress and filmmaker; Voke Ighorodje representing Dr. Otive Igbuzor – Chief of Staff to the Deputy Senate President (Nigeria), and Prof. Chioma Agomo – Professor of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Some key messages from the learning session include:

Professor Chioma Agomo:

“There has to be accountability; if you do the crime, do the time.”

Olufunke Baruwa:

“Organizations need to work proactively, perpetrators need to be held accountable and survivors need to be advocated for.”

Habiba Balogun:

“A lot more coordination needs to happen at all levels of government. If done correctly, the government will mobilize CSO’s to combat this challenge.”

Nkiru Balonwu:

“On this journey to curb violence against women in the workplace, there can’t be any change if there’s no change from the top.”

Stephanie Linus-Okereke:

“Women are strong. You have all the power within you, find that power!”