Girls Got It was one of the recipients of the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND)’s grant to address issues related to gender based violence.
Girls Got It project was designed to address investment failure to reach vulnerable girls in the poorest communities who have been cut off from mainstream programmes and services.
Girls Got It carried out the following campaign.
Media Advocacy and Social Marketing
The project adopted tools like jingles, infographics, celebrity endorsement images, tweetchat campaign and storytelling of successful young women using social marketing technique to drive awareness on social media platforms and on radio. This was designed to bring about informed opinions, identified limitations, increased awareness, endorsements and positive support on the part of relevant groups and the general public.
58 Social messages and infographics on facts about gender based violence and ways to end them were designed and promoted on social media throughout the 16 day campaign. 22 people – 12 females and 10 males – from civil society organizations and student groups were involved in the research and planning of the daily social messages for online promotion for the 16 days period. Furthermore, 5 people – 4 females and 1 male – from civil society groups and student group participated in visiting a total of 4 secondary schools and 2 primary schools in Uyo and Abak Local Government Area (LGA) of Akwa Ibom State.
The team also actively sought out endorsements from 10 celebrities who added their voice to the campaign. These celebrities took pictures that were promoted on social media.
And to cap off the media engagement and social advocacy, Girls Got It were hosted on a 30 minute talk show on Akwa Ibom State Broadcasting Corporation (AKBC) where they discussed central themes of the campaign and focused especially on gender based violence perpetrated on people living with disabilities. The show featured 3 people living with disabilities, 2 of whom were women.
Town Hall Stakeholders Format Meeting
Girls Got It engaged stakeholders from the Ministry of Women Development and Social affairs, Ministry of Education, state Universal Basic Education Board, Ministry of Economic and Development Planning, local government chairmen and media houses in a town hall meeting to address the issue of gender based violence from different perspectives. The town hall meeting was attended by a total of 82 participants, with 49 women from civil society groups, state government agencies, schools, religious groups, rural communities and media in attendance.
At this event, a communiqué was signed by a total of 19 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and groups from different LGAs. Also, a position statement was developed to be presented to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly. A recording of the town hall meeting on gender based violence was featured on the Atlantic FM town hall programme, which is a Strengthening Citizen Engagement in the Electoral Process (SCEEP) project.
Engagement with Akwa Ibom House of Assembly
Girls Got It Project would continue the campaign beyond the 16 days of activism by leading a team of 60 member women and youths to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to submit the communiqué developed from the town hall meeting and also call on the lawmakers to make commitments towards improved policies that protect the girl child from every form of violence.
PIND envisions an egalitarian and peaceful society that guarantees equal rights and equitable access to and control of productive resources; ensuring that individuals are empowered to create wealth and overcome poverty and disease irrespective of sex and other demographic differentials. By supporting projects like Girls Got It, PIND is moving towards that goal one step at a time.
