The Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) in Lagos on Monday said it had partnered with the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) to sensitise the public towards ending violence against women.
The CCN President, Most Rev. Benebo Fubara-Manuel, made the disclosure during a news conference to flag off the awareness programme at the council’s office in Surulere, Lagos.
The programme, undertaken in collaboration with UNICEF, is also an initiative of the European Union(EU) and United Nations(UN).
The two-month programme, which would officially start on Tuesday, would be held in selected focal states of Sokoto, Adamawa, Abuja, Lagos, Ebonyi and Cross River.
“We all are aware of the increasing occurrences of crimes and evils in every part of the world today.
“We are particularly familiar with the increasing rate of violence against women and girls as a result of increasing poverty and sufferings caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Christian Council of Nigeria has, therefore, agreed to work with UNICEF on this EU-UN Spotlight Initiative.
“This is the contribution of Faith-Based Organisations in ending violence against women and girls, focusing particularly on the role of the church,” Fubara-Manuel said.
According to him, the Council realized that violence against women and girls is not what the churches or faith-based organisations alone can solve.
“This calls for multilateral efforts and initiatives. Every form of support is a move in the right direction.
“We believe that this collaboration will assist many non-religious persons to discern clearly how they have been trapped in the same declining culture and do all that they can to stop this evil.
“We name violence against women and girls as a real evil confronting all communities of our country today. We admit that it happens in our homes, institutions and religious organisations,” he said.
The council’s president assured that the programme would draw attention to the system that perpetuate injustice, discerning their chameleonic ways of re-asserting their destructive grips.
“We shall engage in the selected focal states and LGAs in street rallies and meet Christian religious leaders who can initiate positive changes in this regard.
“We shall train vanguards of justice everywhere we go, hand out fliers and stickers that will send out our messages and pray to our creator in our churches.
“By the grace of God, we shall see an age in which violence against women and girls is ended,” he said.
Fubara-Manuel called on religious leaders to join hands with the CCN to make this work.
“We urge all churches to prioritise this in their liturgy and join with us in ending violence against women and girls.
“May God make this a true and sincere effort. May our hearts be truly changed towards our women and girls in love,” he said.
CCN is the oldest protestant ecumenical body in Nigeria and at present one of the five families that make up the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
CCN was founded in 1929 in Nigeria and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
It brings together many of the historic denominations in Nigeria including the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Methodist Church Nigeria, among others.