A non-governmental organisation, the AISH Initiative, has canvassed for proper awareness and sensitisation of the people on laws regulating sexual and gender- based violence (SGBV) in the country.
The organisation’s deputy director, Mr. Amuche Okoro, made the call Friday in Abuja, during a one-day sensitisation programme held in Karu.
Okoro said the lack of awareness on the provisions of laws such as Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015 and the Child Rights Act (2003) at the grassroots brought about an increase in SGBV cases.
He said the laws were there to punish offenders, but expressed concerns that a lot was yet to be done in terms of making people, especially those at the grassroots with rampant cases, know the provision of the laws.
Okoro called on the authorities in charge of sensitisation of the laws such as the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to do more to make people aware of the laws.
Speaking earlier, the NGO’s executive director, Mrs. Helen Nwoko, said SGBV eradication in Nigeria had been hindered due to interplay of many legal factors including government alleged inability to adopt some international conventions on human rights.
The Sakaruyi of Karu, Dr. Emmanuel Yepwi, represented by a district head, Mr. Atnadu Shanyibwa, said a lot of SGBV cases were reported at the palace, adding that they were doing their best to handle the cases.
