By Adebola Adegoke
Detutu Ajibodu, CEO, Cece Yara Foundation (second from right), Dr Chinonso Egemba, Executive Director 100k Club, Dr Aniekan Makanjuola Clinical Lead, WARIF, and others at the First Medical Responders Training on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
The Cece Yara Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation, on Monday trained 100 Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) and pharmacists on appropriate response and care to child survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the maiden capacity-building workshop tagged, “First Medical Responders Training”, was in commemoration of the World Contraception Day.
Speaking to newsmen during the training, the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Detutu Ajibodu, said that training PPMVs was pertinent to strengthening national and global efforts in combating SGBV.
This, she said, was due to their nature as first responders in health cases including SGBV cases.
“In our years of working with survivors of SGBV, we noticed that they always identify PPMVs as their first responders.
“This is because when an individual is abused, their first instinct is to go to a pharmacy.
“So, we have taken it upon ourselves to see that these people are trained appropriately in knowing how to respond to SGBV.
Cross section of participants at the First Medical Response Training on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence organised by Cece Yara Foundation in Lagos.
“At the end of the training, we expect that they can understand how to respond and refer cases to the appropriate organisations like Cece Yara Foundation,” she said.
She added that the training would also empower them with knowledge on how to identify signs of SGBV in children to be able to give appropriate care, referral and respond to them professionally.
“For instance, if a child is going to a particular pharmacy constantly to buy emergency contraceptives, that is a strong sign that the child is being sexually abused.
“So we are training them to understand those signs and with that, they can be able to trace those children to their homes to see if they are being abused or not.
“It is not enough for them to get the medical attention but other services such as legal aid, psycho-social support and shelter,” she said.
Dr Aniekan Makanjuola, Clinical Lead and Centre Manager, Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF, urged PPMVs to take active roles in emergency response to SGBV.
According to her, this is because they can reach disadvantaged areas, especially where cases are underreported.
She listed reasons for underreported SGBV cases to include lack of reporting mechanism, stigmatisation, further attack by perpetrator, rejection, and victim-blaming among others.
“First-line support provides practical care and response to a survivor’s emotional, physical and safety needs.
“It is usually the most important care you can provide because it requires empathy and sensitivity.
“It is therefore important as first responders to listen actively to a survivor without judging; inquire, assess and respond to their various needs; validate by letting the survivor know that you understand and believe them.
“First responders should also enhance the survivor’s safety by discussing a plan to protect them from further harm and provide useful information and referrals for other services and support,” she said.
She urged participants to engage in constant training and retraining to further equip them in combating SGBV in their various communities.
Also speaking, Dr Chinonso Egemba, Executive Director, 100k Club, said some of the challenges impeding appropriate response to SGBV in communities were community norms, family interference, religious and cultural beliefs among others.
Egemba said that survivors suffered physical, medical and psychological consequences such as physical injuries, pelvic inflammatory diseases, sexually- transmitted diseases and infections, low self-esteem, social disconnection and shame.
He, therefore, said that training the PPMVs in response to SGBV was the right step in ensuring everyone was involved in the fight.
“Less than 10 per cent of victims go to the hospitals to report cases. Their first contact is usually the pharmacy and PPMVs, so people like these must be brought into the fight against SGBV.
“The PPMVs are in the communities, they are the ones who interact with them daily.
“So, we already have people who are in these communities and what we need to do is to give them the necessary skill and knowledge required to first be able to recognise cases, know what to do and refer appropriately,” he said.
Mr Kolawole Olafusi, one of the participants said: “For me, some of the signs I have noticed are when a child is constantly asking questions about sexual abuse or buying emergency contraceptives.
“My approach to situations like these is to form a rapport with the person to find out why she is coming to buy contraceptives.
“With this training, I have realised that I need to do more in responding to and referring cases of suspected sexual abuse in my community because we do not have a reporting system.”
NAN reports that Cece Yara Foundation is a child-centred non-profit organisation established in 2016 to prevent child sexual abuse and provide access to care, information, protection and emergency intervention for children who have experienced sexual abuse or at risk.
