Group decries rising violence against women despite governors’ declaration

By Philip Clement

Despite the declaration against Gender-Based Violence by Nigerian governors, violence against women still persist around the country, #Stateof Emergency GBV Movement has said.

The group said before the pandemic, violent and domestic attacks on women were common. However, the lockdowns caused a significant spike in the incidents, resulting in an alarming increase in brutality and death.

They group made their position known at a press conference in Abuja on Monday.

According to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2018), 30% of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 reported being subjected to sexual abuse. The Lagos State Domestic and Gender Violence Response Team reported a total of 3193 cases of gender-based violence between January and December 2020 alone. The statistics are similarly dire across the rest of the country.

At a press conference, the group stated that “A year ago, on the 3rd of June 2020, we launched the #StateOfEmergencyGBV Movement following the death of the 22-year-old Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, to advocate for urgent actions to prevent the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence and respond to incidents sustainably, prioritising health, justice, and redress for survivors. Today, we are here to ask our leaders who promised to take action against this scourge, WHAT HAS CHANGED?

“We are hoping that answers to these questions will be provided through the Freedom of Information requests we sent to the Nigeria Governors Forum, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Eradication of Sexual & Gender-based Violence, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the National Human Rights Commission. Today marks seven days since the FoI requests were sent, the maximum number of days required by the law to respond to such request.

“Too many women and young girls have lost their lives to these heinous acts perpetrated by criminals. Yet, unfortunately, many more continue to die, with cases either totally ignored and justice delayed indefinitely,”

According to the group, the murder of 22-year-old Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, who was gang-raped and clubbed to death inside the Ikpoba Hill branch of Redeemed Christian Church of God in Benin City, Edo State, in May 2020, is still being litigated one year after.

Speaking further, it added at “Around the same time, a 12-year-old was raped by a 57-year-old man and 11 others in Jigawa State. Grace Oshiagwu, Barakat Bello, and Azeezat Somuyiwa were raped and gruesomely murdered in Ibadan. One year after, what has changed? Where is justice for them?

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“In April this year, Iniobong Umoren, a graduate of the University of Uyo, was allegedly raped and killed by Uduak Akpan, who, under the guises of possible employment, lured her to her death in Akwa Ibom State.
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, Olajide Omowumi Blessing, a 300 level student of the University of Ilorin was sexually assaulted and killed by rapists. There are countless other incidents too numerous to mention.

“Sexual harassment and physical violence are only part of the horrors Nigerian women are continually subjected to, including harmful traditional practices, psychological abuse, and acts of socio-economic violence. According to the World Population Review, Nigeria is the 7th most dangerous country in the world for women to live in.

“At our press conference on September 30th, 2020, we reminded state governments of the urgency to domesticate the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act across the states. We repeated this demand on December 17th, 2020, asking the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) to “walk the talk” and fulfil the commitment made on June 12th, 2020, when they declared a state of emergency against sexual and gender-based violence.

“It is not enough to have laws, it is pertinent that laws are implemented. SGBV cases should be promptly prosecuted within a reasonable timeframe and in line with the provisions of extant laws, regardless of requests or interference by the victim’s family or interested parties.

“We have also noticed some states are adopting a watered-down version of the VAPP Act, significantly reducing the punishments for violence against women and girls. This is not acceptable. While national leaders can modify laws in line with the socio-political peculiarity of their states, the standard remains the 2015 version of the VAPP passed by the National Assembly. We, therefore, call for urgent amendments to these below-par versions in these states,” it added

The group said the governor slforum should as a matter of emergency establish independent specialised courts for sexual offences, which will be the best way forward in each state, new/fund existing Sexual Assault Referral Centers (SARCs) and shelters in every state as well aSexual Offenders Register should be opened in all the states.

They also call on Nigerians to demand action from leaders while saying that the movement remains resolute in their demands and will continue to hold authorities accountable.