Nigeria’s frontline non-profit organisation for women’s right and women’s political participation, Dinidari Africa Foundation, has partnered the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) as part of efforts geared toward ending the menace of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the country.
Speaking at a one-day workshop on inter-agency collaboration on Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Abuja, the Executive Director of Dinidari Africa, Ndi Kato, noted that there has been an increase in SBGV cases across the country since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kato blamed the rise in SGBV cases on prevailing cultural norms, poor awareness of the framework for reportage of crime, and shortcomings in the justice framework.
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“Despite the high incidences of SGBV in Nigeria and the associated impacts on victims, SGBV victims in Nigeria have a low reportage and help-seeking behaviour. Only 32% of women who have been victims of violence sought help, and help was mainly sought from the victim’s own families,” she said.
She said this is a result of prevailing cultural norms that discourage reportage of SGBV, poor awareness of the framework for reportage of crime, and shortcomings in the justice framework.
“Also, informal means of seeking help (i.e. through family and community heads) dampen the SGBV response outlook in Nigeria,” she noted.
While appreciating the support of the CommonWealth Foundation and the NHRC, she called for improved collaboration among key government and non-governmental organisations towards ending the scourge of violence against women and girls in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu ESQ, highlighted the efforts of the Commission towards SGVB response.
Ojukwu, who was represented by the Commission’s Director, Women and Children Department, Harry Obey, noted that the NHRC had launched the Unsub Platform which links victims to the nearest responders, toll free lines among other interventions.
The one-day workshop is part of activities under the partnership between Dinidari Africa Foundation and the CommonWealth Foundation tagged: “The Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Collaboration, Advocacy, Awareness and Protection Project(The CAAP Project).”
The CAAP Project is an eight-month intervention targeted at improving inter-agency collaboration for holistic SGBV response in Nigeria, while improving the awareness of women and girls on SGBV mitigation and response in Nigeria.
The project seeks to solicit the cooperation and collaboration of different government arms with gender and human rights focus for a more robust SGBV response in Nigeria.
