A Civil Society Organization, BraveHeart Initiative for Youth and Women (BHI), organized a two-day Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Case Management Training for SGBV-Focused Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Edo State.
The training which aimed at enhancing the capacity and skills of CSOs in SGBV case management, was held from Monday, June 26th to Tuesday, June 27th, 2023, at HomeVille Plus Hotel, Benin City, Edo State.
The training was specifically for members of Braveheart Initiative’s SGBV learning platform with funding support from the MacArthur Foundation, and a total of 13 CSOs participated, with Ms. Priscilla Usiobaifo, Executive Director of BHI; Miss Abimifoluwa Omisore; Ms. Grace Osakue, the outgoing Chairperson, BHI Board of Trustees; a former Commissioner for Justice, Edo State, Barr. Osagie Obayuwana and the immediate past Attorney General of Edo State- Prof. Yinka Omorogbe (SAN) as distinguished facilitators.
The CSOs that participated are; BraveHeart Initiative for Youths and Women (BHI), Better Days Initiative, Genius Hub Global Initiative, Edo Women’s Development Initiative. (EWDI), Association Against Women Exploitation and Degradation (AAWED). Caring Hearts Initiative for Advocacy Development and Empowerment (CHIADE), Initiative for Gender Equality and Advancement. (IGEA), Indomitable Youths Organization (IYO), Community-Based Initiative for Brighter Tomorrow, Association of Professionals for Family Health Empowerment and Community Development (APPFHECOD), Girls Power Initiative, Justice Development and Peace Center Benin, Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) Auchi.
In her opening remark, the Executive Director of BHI, Ms. Priscilla Usiobaifo said there are about 1000 CSOs operational in Edo state, with about 50 of them focused on SGBV programming. According to her, the training was meant to fill the training gap of the SGBV-focused organizations in SGBV case management. She further stated that prior to the SGBV case management training, BHI also organized a training for health sector providers in Akoko-Edo, Edo State.
“The section was made up of technical sessions; documentation and data intelligence; discussions about work tools; distribution of job aids such as – power banks, electric boxes with power surge; and post-training institutional support; panel and group work discussions about institutions,” Priscilla noted.
Speaking through Zoom, the Deputy Director of MacArthur Foundation, Dr. Amina Salihu, said the Foundation felt the energy and impact of BHI’s work in Edo State, adding that BHI has chosen to tackle the hard issues of SGBV.
“Making violence issue a policy and law is an amazing thing that BHI is doing in Edo State. The kind of initiative that BHI has, the state government does not have it. BHI has really done a lot in building the capacity of CSOs in the area of SGBV”, Dr. Amina remarked.
While delivering a technical session on Ethical Guides for SGBV Case Management, the outgoing Chairperson of the BHI Board of Trustees, Ms. Grace Osakue, highlighted some ethical principles that must guide case managers in the course of carrying out their SGBV work including; respecting the privacy of the survivor; informed consent; cultural sensitivity; being non-judgmental; establishing clear boundaries with survivors; professional competence and continuous education/training; self-care and wellbeing; collaboration and referrals; ensuring safety and security of survivors; non-discriminatory; maintaining professional integrity; survivor centered approach; empowering survivors; ethical documentation and data management; and accountability and quality assurance.
In his technical session presentation on Engaging with the Justice Sector in SGBV Case Management, a former Commissioner for Justice, Edo State, Barr. Osagie Obayuwana posited that social workers are repairers of the nation. He urged social workers to be genuine with attributes like empathy, tenacity, courage, conviction, sacrifice, charisma, and charm in the discharge of their duties.
Barr. Osagie said that “Beyond these, also display virtues like patience, doggedness, transparency, altruism, nobility, to earn the conscience of the community.
“When you group all together and embody them, there will be no problem engaging state actors. These days, you must engage the Vigilante, the Civil Defense, the Police, and the Judiciary.
“The justice sector starts from the point of arrest. When an arrest has been made, there’s a time limit in which the suspect can be kept. In some cases, an investigation can commence before arrest. The outcome of a case depends on the investigation. When the investigation is poor, the outcome will fall into pieces,” Osagie said.
Barr. Osagie seized the opportunity to advocate for a united front approach in the fight against SGBV and also highlighted some systemic challenges facing SGBV-focused groups including the poor level of the development of the state, poor wages, being overworked, and inefficiency on the part of security agencies and the judiciary. He stressed that the media also play important roles, stating that the whole system is about correction and enlightenment programs that will make people rethink.
In another technical session on “Challenges in SGBV Case Management”, the facilitator, the immediate past Attorney General of Edo State, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe (SAN) outlined some of the challenges in SGBV case management as finance, governance, the retirement of justice, and observation of holidays, professional incompetence, poor data management, the problem of consent on the side of the victim, administration of criminal justice, lack of proper documentation, lack of confidentiality in counseling, witness compromise, limited access space to service providers, limited case management workers, not enough evidence for survivors.
According to Prof. Yinka, “Governance means your papers have to be in order. I am very sure that you obviously will be incorporated, your board will be functional, your financial statement will be there, and I am very sure that you must do things like NSITF, and PENCOM. You have to comply with the law. A lot of things can show that you are serious, but your books are incredibly important as well.”
Prof. Yinka was of the opinion that the retirement of judges and observation of holidays leading to the possible cancellation of court sittings listed as challenges of the judiciary is bad management, stating that there is really no excuse for a judge to suddenly cancel a sitting date, noting that there should be clarity of communication with notice given ahead of time.
She also remarked that professional incompetence, another case management challenge, is inexcusable at the level of CSOs, as well as at the level of state counsel because lives are involved. “I can’t call that a challenge, sorry to say because it’s something that you need to clean up,’ Prof. Yinka said.
While responding to challenges resulting from investigators’ actions in case management, Prof. Yinka noted that “When an investigator kills a case, the case is dead, there is nothing much a lawyer can do.
“If there is a case of rape, you take the girl, you washed her, and she is then cleaned, everybody says she is lying. There has to be some preservation of evidence. You need to make sure you work hand in hand with investigators.”
Prof. Yinka further stressed the need for the state to make available rape kits; “Rape kits are essential. With rape kits, you get to have physical evidence as you need, and with that, you can end up with a water-tight case. The law is not there for holding hands, the law is there to punish people who do things that are contrary to what the state wants.
“You need the rape kits and the sex offender registered and you are to work with the police and state council. We have no state council in this area. No prosecution. You need to confront the problems as regards the prosecution in the area of Anti-human trafficking.
On the challenge of communication, Yinka alluded to the fact that there is a need for interpreters for persons with disabilities like the hearing impaired, and braille materials for the visually impaired.
While rounding off the training program, and appreciating the participants, the Executive Director of BHI, Ms. Priscilla Usiobaifo presented the under-listed items to the 13 CSOs that participated; One 10,000 MAH Power Bank, One AC Power Extension Socket (Surge Protector), One Carton of A4 Printing Paper, Six pieces of 60 Leaves Notebook, One Training manual on Gender-Based Violence, One Simplified Copy of Edo State VAPP Law 2021 and One Standard Operating Procedure on Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response
The training was officially closed by the outgoing chairperson of the BHI board of trustees, Mrs. Grace Osakue.
In her remark, Mrs. Grace Osakue on behalf of the board of trustees, congratulated the BHI staff for a very well-facilitated training. She also appreciated the organizations that identified and sent their staff for the training.
Ms. Osakue also commended the participants for their full participation and rapt attention during the training sessions. She encouraged the participants on the need to step down, emphasizing that stepping down training is important in organizations for the purpose of management of change. She thanked MacArthur Foundation for taking up the challenge of funding the training program.
“This will be my last appearance as the Chair, Board of Trustees of BHI. The progress made during my tenure as chair of the Board is a result of the wonderful policies of the ED, who is the founder of BHI. Her energy and passion made my work easy. I admonish everyone who contributed to making the work of the Board of Trustees easy by putting in the right energy needed and being prompt in all you do so that the organization can grow.
“I want to congratulate the BHI team for a well-facilitated training. I went through the Pre-Test Knowledge Inventory and I found out that the training is apt. The objectives of the training were based on reality and the ability to fill a gap.
“This room is filled with NGOs and CSOs that would perform better in their missions as a result of this training session.
“I want to appreciate the organizations who sent proper representatives involved in case management. They sent trainees who needed this training. The trainees paid proper and full attention and also participated fully. I admonish you trainees to put what you have learned to good use in your organizations.
“The session was put in place to facilitate SGBV work in Edo state. The other materials and references given to you should be put to good use. I want to encourage the trainees to do follow-up training in their organizations.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank MacArthur Foundation for its funding which made this project a reality. They always work with us and promote sexual reproductive health in Edo state. Also, my thanks go to the staff of BHI for their cooperation throughout this program.”
