By Attah Ede, Makurdi

The Benue State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the dignity and rights of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW), ensuring equality and improving their access to justice and non-discriminatory healthcare services.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Benue State, Prof.

Timothy Ornguga, stated this in Makurdi during a two-day training on “Non-Discriminatory and Trauma-Informed Healthcare for Highly Vulnerable AGYW in Benue State.”

The training, organised by the Concerned Women International Development Initiative (CWIDI) in collaboration with the Benue State Ministry of Justice, with support from GEF and Y+ Global, was held at Monatel Hotel, Makurdi, under the theme: “Building Compassionate and Survivor-Centred Healthcare.

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Addressing participants, facilitators, partners and other stakeholders, Ornguga said healthcare workers have a responsibility to ensure that every girl or young woman who seeks medical attention is treated with dignity, regardless of her circumstances.

“It gives me pleasure to welcome all participants, facilitators, partners and stakeholders to this important training. For healthcare workers, this means that a girl or young woman who comes to a health facility must be received as a person with rights and dignity, not as a problem, moral offender or mere case file,” he said.

The Commissioner stressed that no AGYW should be discriminated against on the basis of age, sex, clothing, marital status, disability, economic circumstances, displacement, alleged conduct or any other personal circumstance.

He urged healthcare workers to limit questioning to information necessary for safe care, documentation and appropriate referral, warning against questions or comments that could embarrass, shame or morally judge survivors.

According to him, the health facility is often a survivor’s first point of contact before the police, lawyer or court, and the treatment received at that stage can determine whether the survivor feels safe enough to pursue protection and justice.

Ornguga cited a recent decision of the Delhi High Court of India in State vs. Sajid Ali, delivered on August 10, 2026, by Hon. Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha, saying the court condemned cross-examination focused on a survivor’s clothing and emphasised that a woman’s choice of attire should not be regarded as justification or condonation for unlawful conduct.

“That principle has a wider lesson for every professional institution: clothing is not consent, and a survivor’s dignity must not become collateral damage in the search for an explanation for another person’s misconduct,” he said.

He noted that Benue State’s legal framework, including the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law and the Child Rights Law, provides important safeguards against violence, abuse and exploitation.

However, he stressed that the protections contained in these laws must be translated into everyday professional practice.

The Justice Commissioner urged healthcare workers to uphold confidentiality, informed communication, accurate documentation, respectful treatment and effective referral pathways. He also encouraged participants to approach the training with openness and a willingness to critically examine existing practices.

He said healthcare facilities should be places where survivors can seek help without fear of humiliation, stigma or blame.

Ornguga commended CWIDI for organising the programme and said the fight against gender-based violence could not succeed if healthcare workers, the Ministry of Justice, psychosocial service providers and social protection agencies worked in isolation.

He pledged the continued support of the Ministry of Justice for partnerships and programmes aimed at improving access to justice and protection for women, girls and other vulnerable persons.

Speaking on the objective of the training, the Executive Director of CWIDI, Becky Gbihi, said the programme was designed to ensure that healthcare workers protect human dignity while providing services to AGYW, particularly those considered highly vulnerable.

She identified adolescent orphans, girls with disabilities, sex workers and girls living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps among those who may face heightened vulnerability.

“Those categories are more vulnerable, and because they are already traumatised, whenever they receive negative treatment or comments from health workers, they withdraw, and this could cause them to break down further.

“So, the essence is for health workers to deliver services with a human face by respecting and protecting the dignity of AGYW seeking healthcare, ensuring that they have access to holistic healthcare and referring them appropriately,” Gbihi explained.

She expressed optimism that the training would equip participants to go beyond immediate medical treatment by appropriately directing survivors to other essential services, including psychosocial support.

In a presentation titled “Understanding Gender, Equality, Gender-Based Violence, GBV, and Violence Against Women and Girls,” a representative of the Ministry of Justice, Timothy Tion, explained gender roles, social norms, equality and the different forms of gender-based violence.

Tion also took participants through relevant provisions of the Benue State Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law of 2019 and the Child Rights Law of 2008.

He stressed the importance of equal opportunities, noting that denying people opportunities on the basis of gender violates fundamental human rights and perpetuates inequality.

Also speaking, Dr. Kwasedoo Ngbea, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, delivered a paper titled “Understanding the Health, Psychological and Social Impact of GBV on AGYW and Principles of Survivor-Centred Care: Safety, Confidentiality, Respect, Non-Discrimination and Informed Consent.”

Ngbea said the rights, needs, safety, dignity, choices and autonomy of survivors must remain paramount in the provision of healthcare.

She advocated respectful, confidential and non-judgmental support for survivors, noting that the health, psychological and social consequences of gender-based violence on AGYW can be severe and long-lasting when not properly addressed.

Participants at the training commended the organisers for strengthening their capacity and called for increased awareness campaigns to educate young girls about their rights and available support services.

They said equipping frontline workers with the right knowledge and skills would help reduce stigma, encourage reporting and ensure that survivors receive holistic care without fear of discrimination, humiliation or judgment.

From Attah Ede and Sylvia udegbunam, Port Harcourt

Seasoned communication experts and veteran broadcasters, on Thursday, enjoined media practitioners both in broadcast and print media to remain upright and act as child-rights champions to ensure that the dignity and the rights of every child are fully respected in every circumstance.

They also said journalists must prioritize a child’s psychological and social well-being over the “newsworthiness” or financial gains of a catchy headline and obtain valid parental or guardian consent alongside the child’s personal assent before conducting any media interview or engagement.

They thrown the challenge during the two-day UNICEF Zonal Workshop on Ethical Reporting of Children held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, capital.

Key experts including; Dr. Jide Johnson (Deputy Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism), Lanre Idowu (CEO of Diamond Awards for Media Excellence and rights activist), ex- broadcaster with Nigerian Television Authority, Nansel Nimyel and Dr. Geoffrey Njoku led the presentations, raging from newsroom protocols, media responsibility, regulatory requirements and trauma-informed journalism as well as NUJ code press council legal consequences and rewriting harmful headlines into ethical alternatives.

Dr Jide Johnson, in his presentation on the Media and Child Rights – Call to Action, described the media as an important actor in promoting and protecting children’s rights.

He reminded media practitioners on their watchdog role, stressing that they have constitutional responsibilities under Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, noting that its gatekeeping and agenda-setting roles gave it enormous influence over societal perceptions.

“The one who writes the story frames the world,” he said, urging journalists to use quality data, statistics, features, cartoons, jingles and local languages to draw attention to issues affecting children.

He called on journalists to become advocates for children by reporting issues such as out-of-school children, infant mortality, malnutrition, child labour and inadequate educational facilities

Presenting a paper on Drafting Newsroom Guidelines on Child Reporting Protocol, Nansel Nimel maintained that journalists narratives could either protect children or expose them to further harm.

He insisted that newsrooms to establish dedicated child-reporting desks, assign trained correspondents and introduce child-sensitive language and pre-publication reviews for reports involving minors.

“Reporting can either protect the child or harm the child,” Nimel said, stressing the need to protect children’s identities through measures such as pseudonyms, voice masking and image blurring.

He also advocated regular staff training, internal complaints mechanisms, newsroom audits and collaboration with child-protection agencies.

On the legal and regulatory consequences of unethical reporting, the facilitators highlighted provisions of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code and the codes of the Nigerian Union of Journalists and Nigerian Press Council.

They stressed that the identities of children involved in criminal or legal matters should not be disclosed, while journalists must avoid interviews or programming that could expose minors to ridicule, stigma, exploitation or psychological harm.

The facilitators noted that the principle of the “best interest of the child” remained central to ethical reporting, adding that Nigerian broadcasting standards were consistent with broader international principles.

The workshop also examined trauma-informed journalism, with Johnson warning that repeated exposure to accidents, violence, sexual assaults, malnourished children and displaced persons could affect journalists’ mental health.

He advised journalists to prioritise their well-being, develop accountability partners and approach traumatised sources with care, allowing them to determine which questions they are comfortable answering.

The communication gurus noted that ethical child reporting requires journalists to cross-check accounts, avoid re-traumatising victims and balance stories by highlighting children’s resilience rather than portraying them only as victims.

They urged journalists to always mask or hide the identities, names, and faces of child victims of abuse, trafficking, or conflict to avoid lifetime stigmatization and always reporting away from “pity-driven” individual exposure and move toward highlighting broader, systemic institutional failures.

From Attah Ede and Sylvia Udegbunam, Port Harcourt

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Wednesday, opened a two- day training for journalists on ethical reporting and child rights protection.

The three-day zonal capacity-building workshop, which is holding in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital is funded by UNICEF and organised in collaboration with the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State(BCA), brought together journalists, editors, and state correspondents from print, broadcast, and digital media across Benue, Enugu, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Rivers, Cross River and Delta states to deepen their understanding of the legal and ethical frameworks guiding child-focused reporting in Nigeria.

In her keynote address titled “Why Ethical Reporting of Children Matters in Nigeria,” the Chief Field Officer, Enugu Field Office, UNICEF, Juliet Chiluwe, said journalists were “not merely observers of society” but “shapers of society.”

She said the responsibility of journalists became even greater when reporting stories involving children, stressing that a child featured in the media “is not simply a subject for a story.”

“That child is a person with dignity, rights, aspirations, and a future,” Chiluwe said.

She maintained that the training reflects UNICEF’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with the media, adding that journalists play a crucial role in giving a voice to children, who often cannot speak for themselves.

She noted that ethical reporting is vital in a diverse society like Nigeria, where the media can either unite people or deepen divisions and commended Nigeria journalists for their tremendous and developmental reportage.

“The way we report on children can have a lasting impact on their lives.Ethical journalism — marked by accuracy, fairness, and balance — protects vulnerable children by preserving their identities, prioritising their best interests, and ensuring a future free from shame and harm.

“An unnecessary disclosure of identity can follow a child for years. Ethical reporting must never be treated as an option or an extra add-on to good journalism,” she said.

Chiluwe advised journalists to consider the best interests of children before publishing stories involving them and encouraged participants to use the training to sharpen their skills in covering child-related issues responsibly.

In his remark, the Director General of Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State (BCA), Mr Francis Nwaubani, described the training as important and timely, stressing that children remain among the most vulnerable members of society and depend on adults and professionals to protect their rights and dignity.

Nwaubani insisted that children could be exposed to unintended harm through sensational reporting, inappropriate identification, intrusive interviews and the publication of information that could compromise their safety and privacy.

He explained that journalists and media professionals wield considerable influence through their reports, broadcasts, headlines, documentaries and digital platforms, making responsible reporting about children both a professional requirement and a moral obligation.

“The way we report a child who is a victim of violence, abuse, exploitation, conflict, displacement, poverty or other forms of vulnerability can either contribute to the child’s protection and recovery or inadvertently prevent the child from recovering and exclude them further,” he said.

The DG however enjoined journalists to consider the possible consequences of their reports before publishing or broadcasting stories involving children, stressing journalists must ask themselves whether a story would protect or endanger the child, respect the child’s dignity and privacy, and serve the child’s best interests.

Nwaubani stressed that ethical reporting did not mean avoiding difficult stories involving children, but required journalists to tell such stories accurately, sensitively and responsibly while promoting solutions and protecting children’s rights.

The workshop is expected to features paper presentations on overview of UN CRC and the Nigeria Domestication of CRA (2003) and institutionalisation of child rights, media as protector or violator: foundation of child rights, privacy, dignity and protection of identity consent and parental approval avoiding harmful stereotypes and sensationalism and ethical dilemmas: abuse, crime when to report vs when not to report etc.

The training objectives include equipping participants with knowledge of the legal and ethical frameworks governing the reporting of children in Nigeria, including the Child Rights Act and relevant international conventions.

Participants are also expected to learn to identify and mitigate risks associated with reporting on children, apply best practices in interviewing children and handling sensitive information, and report critical child rights issues, such as abuse, exploitation, education, health, and the impact of conflict, responsibly.