Published Article

ABSTRACT
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.
KEYWORDS: Gender Inequality, Covid-19, and Mitigating Strategies, Gender
Equality