Oyo to prosecute gender-based violence perpetrators

The Oyo State Government has vowed to invoke the law against perpetrators of gender-based violence.

The State Rapid Response Team on Gender-Based Violence, while presenting its report,  said it recorded 692 cases between March 2020 and February 2021, with physical abuse, rape and child labour cases ranking highest.

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The team, under the state’s Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, also reported abandonment, defilement, attempted rape and intimate partners violence cases.

Chairman of the team Mr. Marcus Williams said there was need to respond to the plights of girl-child and women on time as they were the most vulnerable to gender-based violence.

He said most of the cases happened in the rural communities, hence the need to collaborate with community leaders and sensitize them on the role to play in reducing the acts and ensure that parents play active roles in giving their children both formal and informal education, while the society should also play its role of positive modelling.

“All the cases reported were swiftly responded to with provision of psychosocial support, healthcare, alternative shelter, educational, nutrition and legal support as the case may be, and all these were made possible by the Oyo State government,” he added.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Alhaja Faosat Sanni, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Christiana Abioye, said, “We have laws against perpetrators and we will ensure that necessary actions and punishments are meted out to them.”