Panelists Raise the Stakes to Enhance Efforts for Prevention of GBV

DSW Ethiopia organised a plenary session to engage stakeholders in efforts to advance gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and improve sexual and reproductive health services for university students. The half-day plenary session took place on 20 August 2024 at Elilly International Hotel in Addis Ababa. These critical issues, which largely affect youth across the country, have attracted the attention of academics and student panelists from Bahir Dar and Jimma Universities as well as relevant government officials, who are raising the stakes in the fight against GBV.

The Ministries of Health, Women and Social Affairs and representatives from the sub-national government sector offices and agencies in the Amhara and Oromia regions have recognised the need to establish a collaborative partnership for addressing the prevalence of GBV, particularly on university campuses, where a concerted effort is also needed to improve access to SRH services. 

Feyera Assefa, Country Director of DSW Ethiopia praised the progress being made through the implementation of the SAfA-supported intervention in four districts of the Amhara and Oromia regions over the past four years, and emphasized the need to strengthen youth-friendly SRH services and the collaborative role that higher education institutions should play in conducting research for evidence-based responses to the GBV and SRH interventions.

In line with Feyera’s emphasis, the Federal Ministry of Health represented by Alemayehu Hunduma (PhD), reiterated the need to continue this ongoing stakeholder engagement and to follow up on the action points identified during the plenary session.

One of the panelists, Dabere Nigatu (PhD) from Bahir Dar University, linked his research findings presented at the panel discussion to the positive aspect of SRH education in influencing students’ care-seeking behavior. However his academic colleague, Anteneh Dirar (PhD) from Jimma University, expressed concern about the prevalence of GBV, which poses serious challenges in higher education institutions. “The mechanism for coordinating the safe reporting of GBV cases on university campuses appeared to be weaker, if not minimal, which can be characterised as identifiable challenging gaps to address the threat of risk factors for GBV, including the unmet SRH needs. The lack of needs-based practical applications in obtaining research-based evidence to address the gaps remains the key challenge,” Anteneh said, reiterating the widely reflected views of the plenary participants referencing to his research paper.

According to a research paper that has referenced Bahir Dar University, a key indicator identified as an attitudinal risk factor potentially contributing to the prevalence of GBV among female university students was co-related to “the general perception of society, which is expressed in terms of the inferiority of women compared to its male members.” As a result, this study conclusively indicated that up to 70 percent of all risk factors expose female students at Bahir Dar University to potential GBV.   

Other key calls to action at the end of the plenary session included integrating sexual and reproductive health (SRH) into university curricula, improving youth-friendly services, and using different media channels to spread awareness to better address the SRH needs and GBV issues among university students.

Enhancing the SRH and Livelihood Prospects of Young People in Ethiopia is a four-year intervention that has been supported financially and technically by the Stiftungallianz fϋr Afrika (SAfA).