THE CHALLENGE OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 

All the stakeholders could do more to stem the menace

It is unfortunate that violence continues to manifest itself in new forms and trends against women and girls in the country. No fewer than 30 per cent of Nigerian women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, according to the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim. “Even as we begin this campaign today, somewhere in a community, a little child is being abused, and a young girl’s life is at risk,” Sulaiman-Ibrahim said in Abuja last week, while flagging off the ceremony marking the commencement of the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. “This growing trend is unacceptable, represents a gross violation of human rights, and hinders women and girls from achieving their full potential. It also stalls our nation’s progress towards inclusive development.”

Calling for concerted efforts in dealing with the challenge, both the United Nations and World Bank have said that gender-based violence transcends the limited perspective of physical abuse to the economic implications that hinder national development. About 42 per cent of Nigerian women are financially excluded compared to 35 for men, “while women hold less than 5 per cent of elected positions,” according to the UNWomen Country Representative Beatrice Eyom. “Gender-based violence is beyond a man beating his wife. It can reduce the nation’s economic growth. Nigeria will never rise above poverty if GBV is not reduced.” Estimating Nigeria’s economic losses to GBV at trillions of naira annually, World Bank country director, Ndiamé Diop, said these figures do not include productive hours of work lost resulting from victims’ inability to return to their businesses.

From physical and verbal abuse to rape and even murder, it is evident that relevant authorities in Nigeria are not doing enough to tackle this menace. While spousal abuse indeed cuts across both sexes, women and girls are predominantly the victims in the country. Unfortunately, most of them rarely report the violence they endure, for fear of being stigmatised by the society. The situation is compounded by the patriarchal interpretations within the dominant faiths in Nigeria which preach endurance. Inevitably, the victim and the abuser (where summoned) are usually advised to go home and find a way to settle their differences, rather than make public the injury or the violence within.   

More disturbing is that complaints of violence and abuse (against family members) made at the police stations, where girls and women can summon the courage to do so, are often dismissed as domestic matters, especially where such violence occurs between spouses.   

Again, most abused women who opt to remain in the most challenging of marriages claim stability for their children as the excuse for their ‘fortitude’. Meanwhile, assault and battery, even though serious offences in our law books, are hardly ever perceived as crimes by many of the law enforcement agencies, unless the acts ultimately culminate in death.     

 It is indeed imperative that the authorities make more efforts to understand the underlying causes and dynamics of this growing violence, if only to redeem the stability of the family unit, and consequently, the larger society. We cannot continue to ignore the societal upsurge in these occurrences, for the implications on our collective psyche, as citizenry, and our development as a nation, are ominous. To the extent that ignoring subtle signals of violence can only lead to fatal consequences, government, at all levels, must address these concerns. That is the only way to assure our women and girls that we care about their welfare and well-being.