Kaduna establishes transit centre for sexual assault victims

The Kaduna State Government has established a centre for sexually assaulted victims to serve as a temporary abode for women and children who have suffered from sexual abuse before their issues are properly addressed.

Arewa Trust Weekly gathered that the centre tagged: “Transit Shelter” will also provide victims with professional counselling especially for those being faced with not only violence but stigma and emotional distress.

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The wife of the state governor, Hadiza El-Rufai, who inaugurated the shelter, noted that: “We have to try as much as possible to take away that stigma and it is the responsibility of the society not to stigmatise rape victims because they are not the ones at fault and should not be looked down upon.

“Justice is very important, because if the perpetrators see that justice is done to victims, it will serve as a deterrent to others and that is why we have to try as much as possible to take away that stigma,” she said.

The Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba, said the centre was established to provide a safe space for victims of abuse, adding that it would also provide psychosocial support and counselling to help victims overcome their trauma.

The commissioner disclosed that the state government had earmarked N450 million for the construction of a bigger shelter in 2021 which will accommodate survivors of gender-based violence.

Also speaking, the state Commissioner for  Health, Dr. Amina Baloni, said the government was working to ensure that each of its secondary facilities has a sexual assault referral centre, to provide help to survivors.

A representative of the United Nations Population Fund, Maryam Dabo, said women deserved to be treated with respect and dignity which was why UNFPA was giving support to the most vulnerable and actions that would impact positively on the lives of women.

Speaking on the menace of gender-based violence, the  Attorney General, Aisha Dikko, said it has become another epidemic because people do not report abuses and fail to preserve evidence which makes it difficult for prosecution.