CSOs Lament Over Rising Cases of Violence Against Women in Nigeria
- Too many women and young girls have lost their lives to heinous crimes perpetrated by serial abusers
- Some civil society groups are making efforts to ensure the cases of violence against women and girls in the country are drastically reduced
- A 2018 survey revealed that 30% of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been subjected to sexual abuse
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FCT, Abuja - A coalition of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs under the aegis of #StateofEmergencyGBV Movement on Monday, June 7 raised an alarm over the rising cases of violence against women in Nigeria.
The CSOs stated that the cases have been on the rise despite the State of Emergency on Gender-Based Violence, GBV declared by Nigerian governors in 2020.
The groups made their concerns known at a press conference in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja attended by a Legit.ng reporter.
Source: Facebook
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They also restated their demand for the remaining 18 states in the country to domesticate the Child Rights Act, CRA, and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.
Reading the press statement on behalf of the CSOs, Nana Nwachukwu of TechHer stated that:
“In November 2020, we sent individually signed letters to the 527 members of State Houses of Assembly and the 18 governors in the 18 states yet to domesticate the VAPP Act.
“While a few of these states have taken steps to adopt the law and others are at different stages of its passage, we are concerned with the implementation and enforcement strategies in the states that have passed the law.
“Therefore, we restate the demand for the domestication of the VAPP Act in all 36 states and the FCT to enable a nationally coordinated implementation strategy against GBV.”
Also speaking, Hamzat Lawal of Connected Development, stated that Nigeria is the 7th most dangerous country in the world for Twitter.
He expressed concerns that instead of placing a premium on women and girls' welfare, the government is interested in stifling free speech by suspending Twitter in Nigeria.
The CSOs further also lamented and expressed grief that many women and young girls have lost their lives to the heinous acts perpetrated by criminals and many continue to die, with cases either totally ignored or justice delayed indefinitely.
The groups called on well-meaning Nigerians to demand action from the state actors, stressing that GBV is now a menace in society.
Other CSOs involved in the campaign are EVA Nigeria, Yiaga Africa, EiE Nigeria, Stand To End Rape Initiative, Invictus Africa, Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, YouthHub Africa, and TIERS.
The #StateofEmergencyGBV Movement is a coalition of Nigerians advocating for urgent actions to halt the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence and respond effectively to incidents prioritising health, justice, and redress for survivours.
Legit.ng had earlier reported that a social worker in the country recently decried the lack of special courts for the trial of cases of sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria.
Ngozi Ike, the desk officer, FCT, sexual and gender-based violence response team, said having special courts across the country would help speed up the process of justice delivery on cases of sexual and gender-based violence.
She made the comment at the training on ethical reporting and advocacy to eliminate violence against women and girls in the FCT.
Recall that UNICEF, two years ago, announced that the number of birth registration in Nigeria has increased by 29 million.
The announcement was made after an assessment report of the birth registration programme implemented by the National Population Commission.
The report revealed that the programme increased the registration of birth for children under age one by more than 100 percent the number of children registered from three million in 2012 to 11 million in 2016.
Source: Legit.ng
