Strengthening Strategies in the Advocacy against Gender Inequality in the Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic

The study sought to assess the strengthening strategies in the advocacy against gender inequality in the phase of Covid-19 pandemic. Need assessment survey design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in Akwa Ibom State. The population of the study comprised legal practitioners, journalists and social scientists in Akwa Ibom State. Strategic sampling technique was used to select 150 respondents which constituted the sample size for the study. The Main Instrument used in this study was a Questionnaire titled “Strengthening Strategies against Gender Inequality Questionnaire (SSGIQ)”. Face and content validation of the instrument was carried out to ensure that the instrument has the accuracy, appropriateness, completeness and the language of the study under consideration. Cronbach Alpha technique was used to determine the level of reliability of the instrument. The reliability coefficient obtained was 0.88 and this was high enough to justify the use of the instrument. The researcher subjected the data generated for this study to appropriate Statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics and simple regression. The test for significance was done at 0.05 alpha levels. The study concluded among others that there is prevalence of gender inequality in Akwa Ibom State. With the above conclusion, it was therefore recommended that the government should adopt measures to prevent and mitigate sexual violence and gender-based violence associated with quarantine and social distancing, ensuring that healthcare staff has the appropriate information and skills to respond to reported situations or refer cases to specialized services.