By Chimezie Godfrey
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has called on the federal government of Nigeria to intensify efforts to end Gender-Based Violence in the country.
The Executive Director, CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani in a statement on Friday in Abuja, expressed worry over the growing spate of the menace of Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria.
Rafsanjani commended the recent action of the government to declare a state of emergency on on Gender-Based Violence, among other actions.
He however stressed that a lot is still desired to be done in order to turn the table around to
address the challenges associated with GBV in line with global best practices.
He said,”As the world campaigns for the elimination of all form of Gender-Based Violence across the globe, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) is calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to intensify efforts to implement its
commitment towards the elimination of Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria.
“The theme for this year commemoration is “UNITE! Activism to end violence
against women and girls” is calling for collective effort by all stakeholders to
stem the tides on the growing menace of violence against women and girls.
“CISLAC is seriously worried on the growing spate of the menace of Gender-Based
Violence in Nigeria. From forced and early marriages to physical, mental, or
sexual assault on a woman, nearly 3 in 10 Nigerian women have experienced
physical violence by age 15 (NDHS 2013).
“We note with optimism, that recently, the government of Nigeria has taken some
bold initiatives to curb these menace, such as; the efforts by the Nigeria
Governors Forum to declare a state of emergency on Gender-Based Violence; the
inauguration of the Inter-Ministerial Gender-Based Violence Management
Committee; the Senate approval of the Sexual Harassment Bill in furtherance of
the legislative agenda to protect women’s rights and at regional level Statement
by the ECOWAS Commission calling for urgent action to address GBV and
protect the rights of children. In June 2021, the National Human Rights
Commission, the Nigeria Police, and the National Agency for the Prohibition of
Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) signed an agreement of formally joining forces to
combat GBV.
“These developments present opportunities to further the prevention and response to GBV in Nigeria. However, a lot is still desired to be done in order to turn the table around to
address the challenges associated with GBV in line with global best practices.
“We are calling on the government of Nigeria both at the federal and state level to
as a matter of urgency deliver on the below actions in the interest of Nigerians:
“Creating enabling policy, legal and resource environments to discourage and
punish offenders to serve as deterrent mechanism.
“Scale up evidence driven prevention programming to nip in the bud GBV in
Nigeria.
“Scale up comprehensive, accessible, and quality services for survivors of GBV
in Nigeria.
“Enable and empower autonomous girl-led and women’s rights organizations
to exercise their expertise.”
CISLAC joins the rest of the world and in alliance with the theme of this year’s 16days of activism calls for government to end Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria.
