Since the COVID-19 pandemic, sensitisation on GBV became necessary because of the alarming rate of SGBVs, a government official said.

The Delta State Government is worried about its low rating on the National Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Dashboard.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Social Development, Oghenekevwe Agas, expressed the concerns on Thursday in Asaba.

Speaking at a one-day training for caregivers and social welfare officers of the ministry, Mrs Agas reiterated the government's commitment to eradicate GBV in Delta.

She said the training was to keep benefitting area officers abreast of issues concerning the national dashboard on GBVs.

The permanent secretary added that it would also equip them with capacity to fill and upload information to the dashboard when reporting Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBVs).

She said since the COVID-19 pandemic, sensitisation on GBV became necessary because of the alarming rate of SGBVs.

Mrs Agas noted that the increasing rate of SGBVs made the Federal Government create a situation room to monitor and collate data from states of the federation.

Resource person at the training, Olivia Akponehwe, taught participants how to use the national dashboard to report SGBVs on their incidence forms before uploading.

Mrs Akponehwe noted that aside rape, harassment and verbal abuse, there were other forms of SGBVs.

She explained that victims were normally referred to as survivors and advised the trainees not to be judgmental in dealing with survivors, but to assure them of protection and confidentiality.