The Ministry of Women Affairs has expressed worry over the safety of women and girls, saying a total of 3,491 cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) have been reported in one year.
The minister, Dame Pauline Tallen, stated this Tuesday in Abuja during the launch of the National Strategic Knowledge Management Technical Working Group, set up to find lasting solution to the scourge of GBV.
Tallen stated that out of the number, 107 cases are fatal, 742 cases still open,188 cases closed while only 11 cases of perpetrators has been convicted which results to just 0.46% across the country.
She said there is need for high level intervention by the judiciary to ensure justice for victims.
She added that the issue of rape and other GBV has reached an alarming rate that can no longer be tolerated and called on all stakeholders, especially the judiciary to convict offenders to serve as deterrent to others.
She said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has shown enough commitment by setting the pace in declaring zero tolerance to SGBV and we must key into fighting the monster because the figures is heartbroken.
“We should all be ashamed of the alarming number of reported cases and we must rise up to change the narratives so that all efforts made will not be in vein. I re-emphasise the need for each of you to do your best in eliminating SGBV. Why are 188 cases closed, we must find solutions to the problem,” she stated.
In her welcome address, the permanent secretary, Ambassador Anthony Akpabio Ekpa, said the launch became imperative following the rise in SGBV.
