EU, Partners Mobilise against Sexual, Gender-based Violence

•Tambuwal Signs child protection bill on underage marriage

Michael Olugbode in Abuja and Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

The European Union (EU) and its partners are stepping up efforts to mobilise action towards fast-tracking the prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence offenders as well as guaranteeing access to justice and remedies for victims of sexual assault.

Similarly, the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on Monday, signed the Child Protection Bill into law, even though some stakeholders were of the opinions that there were more critical issues to be addressed.

A statement on Wednesday, claimed that, top on the EU priority list was the creation in Nigeria of a special court for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases, which would be a key highlight of this year’s 16 Days of Activism against SGBV, starting today, Thursday, November 25.

The statement said through its Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme, implemented by the British Council, and the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, the world’s largest targeted effort to end all forms of violence against women and girls, the EU has been at the forefront of the campaign to stem SGBV and bring succour and justice to victims.

Last year, President Buhari and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum declared SGBV national emergency.

However, the statement revealed that during the 16 Days of Activism, victims of sexual assault would receive free legal and psychological counselling under a joint effort by RoLAC, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Judiciary and the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, would lend her support for the establishment of special SGBV courts during the seventh Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Network Conference coming up at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel today.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Women Affairs, and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development will all participate in this Conference.

The statement said since Nigeria’s first SARC was established in Lagos in 2013, the number has grown to 32, spread across 19 states of the the country and the FCT.

“Since 2016, the EU has spent over N1 billion on the SARCs. As of June 2021, the SARCs had assisted over 21,000 survivors of sexual assault. They offered immediate medical emergency and counselling, in addition to supporting victims to access the legal system. Over 70 per cent of the clients of the SARCs are young people under the age of 18. Clearly, this number does not properly represent the scale of sexual assault in Nigeria.

“To underscore the importance of reporting and quality data collection in the fight against SGVB, the Spotlight Initiative is launching a report spotlighting 16 facts about SGBV, co-signed by the EU, the UN and the Nigerian government. Despite positive developments in awareness-raising, service provision and data collection, much more needs to be done to address the recognised data gaps.”

Meanwhile, from Sokoto, although the Child Right Protection Bill defined a child as a person below the age of 18 and sought to protect them from abuses, the new law still did not protect certain underaged persons from being married off.

Fielding questions from stakeholders at the sensitisation workshop organised by United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with Ministry of Justice, Women and Children Affairs, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Suleiman Usman,(SAN) said the law was silent on marriage age of a girl child.

He added that at least, before a girl could be given out for marriage, she might have acquired ordinary certificate, that is, secondary school equivalent.

Usman disclosed that the new law has 205 sections and that the emergence of the law would end the prevalence of child abuse in the state.

He maintained that the law covered key aspects of the lives of a child and adolescents, and that the rights were divided into “survival rights, development rights, participation rights and protection rights”.

The commissioner said the Sharia would take precedents of any matter in the new law concerning a Muslim child against the religious law, adding that in the new law, a child has right to education and that the Almajiri Islamic schools had been modeled after Podzol Indonesia model, having a curriculum developed for it.

Earlier, Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Hajia Kulu Abdullahi Sifawa, said as the coordinating ministry, it would beam its touch light on the violators of the law.

Consequently, the UNICEF, has commended the Sokoto State Government for signing the Child Protection Bill into law.

Speaking at a sensitisation workshop yesterday, UNICEF field officer in the state, Mr Pius Uwamanua, described the gesture as a major step forward for children’s rights in Nigeria and enjoined states yet to domesticate the law to emulate Sokoto.

In a related development, United Nations (UN) Women have said one-third of the women population worldwide experience violence in their lifetime.

Deputy Representative, UN Women Nigeria, Mr. Lansana Wonneh, at a media parley to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, said, “One in three women across the world will experience violence in their lifetime. This means more than 1 billion women and girls face physical or sexual abuse.

“Physical, sexual-based and emotional violence doesn’t discriminate but affects women of all ages and backgrounds hence the need to increasing awareness about gender-based violence and crimes.”

Also, the Programme Specialist, Spotlight Initiative, UN Women Nigeria, Tosin Akibu, said in 2020, Nigeria recorded 11,200 rape cases including children raped to death .

She claimed that the rape cases were underreported due to stigma, victim blaming, poor access to justice for surviors and slow progress from domestication of laws to implementation.