A Non-Governmental organisation (NGO), Women Safe House Sustenance Initiative, has sensitised the management and staff of TAMKI Integrated Services and Construction on gender-based violence (GBV), HIV/AIDS, and the importance of strict adherence to the code of conduct.
The two-day programme, tagged ‘Sensitisation on gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS and code of conduct’, which was held on Wednesday in Ibadan, was meant for the staff of TAMKI – the contractors of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP), sponsored by the World Bank.
The environmental social health and safety lead officer of the company, Sado Olusegun, stressed that they strictly operate in the World Bank way, adding that in a World Bank environment, “women’s rights are sacrosanct and gender-based violence is frowned on.”
Olusegun emphasised that GBV, HIV/AIDS, and the code of conduct are important concepts that every worker should be aware of. He urged the workers to learn and practice the things that were taught for their own good, for the good of the company, and also for the good of the project.
The founder and Executive Director of Women Safe House, Wuraoluwa Ayodele-George, noted that GBV and the spread of HIV/AIDS are becoming rampant in workplaces and that sensitisation and training need to be regularly implemented to end them for the betterment of any organisation.
She also noted that workers and their employers need to know what the law says about the code of conduct and the implications of falling short of the code.
Ayodele-George said that the second day of the sensitisation programme will focus on the training of peer educators such as foremen, site engineers, heads of departments (nurses, flag men, etc.), and community leaders.
“The peer educators’ training will be based on gender-based violence, how to prevent it, and also how to respond to victims of violence in our local communities,” Ayodele-George said.
A lawyer from Women Safe House and an advocate for women/children’s rights, Folake Ajayi, spoke on GBV. She explained how culture, environment, and religion play important roles in gender matters.
She noted that though men perpetrate GBV more, women also perpetrate it. She advised that people should avoid isolation – that GBV perpetrators like operating in the dark.
“Bullies hate confrontations. Let your no be a no,” Ajayi said. “Trust your instincts, and be observant of your environment.”
The community mobilisation officer of the Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS, Tolulope Olushola-Jimoh, stated that GBV fuels the spread of HIV/AIDS.
While speaking of the ways the virus can be contracted and how to prevent it, she advised the workers to regularly check their HIV status every six months and also to stop the stigmatisation of people living with the virus.
Olushola-Jimoh also advised the workers not to sexually get involved with minors, adding that “such sexual relations are a crime and the Oyo State government frowns on it.”
Omobolanle Adedeji, a resource person from Women Safe House, spoke on the code of conduct, explaining its four major categories: safety, behavioural, state, and moral.
Adedeji emphasised that the codes are there to ensure that the staff and the organisation know their rights, to encourage open communication and compliance, to enhance trust and mitigate risks, and to make the branding and marketing of the organisation easy.
Two top staff of IUFMP – Bola Dada, social safeguards and specialist; and Olubunmi Olorundare, consultant and environmental safeguard – enjoined the staff to adhere to the advice of the resource persons. They stressed that engaging in GBV acts or flouting the code of conduct they had signed can lead to suspension or termination of the project.
“This is a World Bank project and any illegal/unlawful activity can lead to the suspension of the project or make some people jobless,” Dada warned. “So, we encourage you to comply with the code of conduct and report anything that can jeopardise the project. If you see something, say something.”
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