Every year for the past 11 years, the Cross River Network to Curb Sexual Abuse (NETCUSA) which is housed by GPI Calabar has been organizing public education forums aim at sensitizing the general public and survivors of violence on the need to speak out and seek redress, and to also mark the global period of 16 days of activism on violence against girls and women which is from November 25 to 10th December yearly.
Due to the several cases of sexual abuse that have been reported in different national dailies/media houses in Nigeria of which 5% of these cases occur in our institution of higher learning, this year’s Public Education Forum concentrated on efforts aim at addressing this menace in public institutions. For 2019, GPI Calabar and NETCUSA collaborated with University of Calabar Association for AIDS and Reproductive Health Programes (UCAARHP) to mark the event with the theme: GENERATION EQUALITY STANDS AGAINST RAPE. The event held on the 27th of November 2019 at GPI Calabar Conference hall, and it featured talk show, drama, dance, panel discussion, public sensitization etc.
In attendance were representatives of the Permanent secretaries of Ministries: Department of Public Prosecution (DPP), Women Affairs, Vice chancellors of University of Calabar and Cross River State University of Technology, the Chief Magistrate of Family Court, Calabar, the Principal Council of Basic Rights Council Initiative, Justice, Provost College of Health Technology Calabar, Students from public Institutions, members of Civil society organizations and more.
