Special Assistant to the Speaker, House of Representative on Gender Equality and Social Development, Mrs Fatima Kakure has said relevant authorities handling Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases are frustrated by lack of evidence, interest and knowledge of how to handle the cases.
She identified the gaps as provision for protection, especially within the police and justice system which were unaffordable, inaccessible and stalled over time.
She stated this in Abuja at the weekend during the end of Project Learning and Dissemination meeting on Women-Led Integrated Protection Action Against Gender-Based Violence (WIPeE-GBV) project organised by ActionAid Nigeria.
She, therefore, commended ActionAid, FCDO and partners for continuing to accelerate pragmatic approaches in tackling the cross-cutting issues of GBV through multiple initiatives such as the WIPE-GBV which had affected the most vulnerable groups.
Also, the Country Director ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi also expressed worry over the silence culture of women toward GBV cases, saying “the society is not protecting its citizens.”
She lamented the pace at which GBV cases are withdrawn from the court, while calling on stakeholders to rise above GBV in the country.
“On Dec. 8, 2020, ActionAid Nigeria in partnership with Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officially launched a five-month project targeted toward protecting the rights of women and girls from GBV exacerbated by COVID-19 in Edo, Niger and Adamawa states.
“The implementation of this project gave us better insight into the unique context of addressing violence against women and girls amidst pandemic, especially in conflict settings.
“We have been able to get to the communities and bring out a lot of cases on GGBV. It is an overwhelming episode this time because of the increase in violence occasion by COVID-19,” she said.
In the same vein, the great granddaughter of Queen Amina of Zaria, Dr Ranatu Hassan, commended ActionAid for taking the lead in eradicating GBV across the country.
Hassan was worried that some parents contributed to not allowing victims of GBV get justice for wrong meted on them.
