В Ойо-Стейте запущена программа позитивного воспитания для предотвращения насилия над детьми

The Oyo State Government, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund and Value Female Network Africa, has commenced the Gender Transformative Positive Parenting Programme 1.0. The programme opened with a two-day training for community facilitators held on September 2 and 3, 2026, in Ibadan, the state capital. Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Denis Onoise, said empowering parents and caregivers was critical to preventing violence against children and strengthening the child protection system. Onoise said, “Parents and caregivers are the first protective environment around a child. Strengthening their knowledge and capacity means that risks can be recognised earlier, violence can be prevented and children who require support can be connected to appropriate services. “Positive parenting, therefore, goes beyond how we discipline children. It is an important part of building a stronger child protection system.” He explained that the programme was designed to reinforce the protective environment around children, noting that parents and caregivers were among the people closest to them and could detect early signs of abuse, neglect and other forms of vulnerability. Also Read: Onoise urged the facilitators to apply the knowledge gained during the training to strengthen existing community-based child protection structures and improve awareness of referral pathways for children needing support. Also speaking, the Executive Director of Value Female Network Africa, Costly Aderibigbe-Saba, said the programme was intended to deepen the role of parents and caregivers in protecting children while challenging harmful social norms and practices within families and communities. Aderibigbe-Saba said: “Positive parenting is not simply about raising obedient children. “It is about creating homes where children feel safe, heard, respected and supported to develop confidence and realise their potential. “When children can communicate with their parents without fear and parents understand how to guide without violence, we begin to build stronger families and healthier communities.” Aderibigbe-Saba said the decision to incorporate several child protection issues into the parenting curriculum was deliberate, explaining that children could face multiple forms of vulnerability at the same time. She said: “A parent should understand positive discipline, but that same parent should also understand how to protect a child from sexual violence, female genital mutilation, child marriage and other harmful practices. “Parents should understand the importance of birth registration, recognise when a child requires additional protection and know where to seek help. Positive parenting gives us an important platform to bring these issues together rather than addressing child protection in fragments. “The partnership between VFN, UNICEF and the Oyo State Government was aimed at ensuring that the knowledge acquired during the facilitator training would go beyond the training venue and result in sustained conversations and behavioural changes in homes and communities. “The community-based approach would enable the programme to reach parents directly and create opportunities for them to discuss practical challenges they face while raising children.” Speaking with journalists, the Director of Programmes, Value Female Network Africa, Samuel Abimbade, said the initiative was developed in response to concerns surrounding child neglect, abuse, violence and communication challenges between some parents and their children. Abimbade said parenting demanded attention, care, guidance and communication, particularly as children were growing up in an environment increasingly influenced by technology, social media and other external factors. He stressed that positive parenting should not be interpreted as giving children unrestricted freedom, adding that discipline remained an essential part of child upbringing. Representing the Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs Adediran Oluwawemimo, urged parents to develop stronger relationships with their children. She said parents who created an environment where children could speak to them without fear would be in a better position to understand their experiences and guide them appropriately. “When children know they can come to you and freely discuss what they are going through, you are better able to nurture, guide, correct and support them,” she said. The Head of Operations, State Operations Coordinating Unit, Adelugba Omotola, described the programme as timely, particularly in view of the influences children are exposed to outside the home. The training brought together community facilitators who are expected to take the lessons into selected communities and conduct structured parenting school sessions over a 10-week period. The community sessions will take place across Ibarapa North East, Ibarapa South West, Egbeda and Akinyele Local Government Areas of the state, with about 800 parents and caregivers expected to participate directly. The programme will cover positive parenting, child development, parent-child communication, positive discipline, gender-equitable caregiving, positive fatherhood, adolescent supervision and digital safety. It will also address the prevention of sexual violence, female genital mutilation, child marriage and other harmful practices, alongside birth registration, community-based child protection structures and referral pathways for children who may require additional support.