Members of Nigeria Association of Social Workers on Tuesday staged a sensitization march on the streets of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, to educate the masses on how to end violence against women and children in the state.
Members of the group, who moved from Yenagoa-Mbiama road to the Government House gate and terminated at the state Ministry of Women Affairs, displayed manners with inscription ‘Time is now, stop violence against women and girls, real men don’t rape’ and the rest, warning men folk against maltreating women.
After the sensitization walk, Chairman of the association in Bayelsa State, Rev. Tonye Ayamah, said that the march was part of their enlightenment programmes to the public on how to curb most of the social problems facing the state and the country at large.
He appealed to the National Assembly to give more recognition to social workers by formulating the social work bill and signed by President Muhammadu Buhari into law.
He said: “When this bill is signed, it will help us to regulate and come out with better programmes that will assist in solving the social problems in this country.
“There are many cases of insecurity in this country, women and children are always the prime target, that is why we are appealing that government should step up effort in solving problem of insecurity, such as kidnapping, rape and others, which are increasing everyday in Bayelsa State.
“The state House of Assembly and state government should also enact a law on violence against persons’ act, which will stipulate penalty on any offender.
“We don’t have correctional homes, we don’t have youths development centres in the state. If these places are there, all these anti-social acts will be engaged meaningfully and the society will experienced peace,” he said.
