Enugu CSOs want full implementation of VAPP law
Civil society organisations in Enugu state have demanded for proper implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law across the country.
The organizations made the demand in Enugu on Thursday, during a peaceful protest against incessant sexual abuse at the Government House and the state House of Assembly.
Groups that participated in the peaceful protest include Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL), Actionaid and the League of Women Voters of Nigeria, among several others with the support of Global Affairs, Canada.
The group called for stiffer penalty for sexual assaults and violence against women in the country.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the protest, the Leader of the group and Founder Women Aid Collective (WACOL), Prof. Joy Ezeilo, said that all hands must be on deck in the fight against sexual assaults.
“Rape is a serious felony; it is a crime under Nigeria law both in northern and southern parts of the country.
”The pinnacle code applicable in Nigeria condemns rape and under Southern Nigeria, it is life imprisonment while attempted rape amounts to 14 years imprisonment,” she said.
”We organised this peaceful protest march in solidarity with women across Nigeria in a move to stamp out social and gender sexual violence.
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”This impunity against women and girl -child must stop because the rate of rape we see during this COVID-19 period is unacceptable. We are worried that at a time the pandemic is ravaging the world that we are having another pandemic of sexual assaults.
”This is quite disturbing and have left our women and girl child feeling unsafe,” she said.
Ezeilo said that WACOL had within this pandemic time recorded 25 cases of rape from April to May and on top of that handled 156 cases of sexual and gender violence.
Chairperson of the Nigeria League of Women Voters, Nnenna Anozie, called on women to also help them in nailing sexual abuse perpetrators.
”We go about sensitising women on the need to report rape cases immediately so that we can get first hand evidence.
”Most of our problem in proving our cases before the courts is that rape victims always tampered with the evidence by washing off semen.
”With all our agitation, we are hoping that something would be done technologically and others in implementation of the law,”Anozie said.
