By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A non-governmental organisation, Project Alert on Violence Against Women, has organised and implemented a sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) capacity workshop in three Local Govermment Councils of Lagos State.
The SGBV capacity building programme for CSO’s, Rights groups for gender based violence was held in Shomolu, Ajeromi/Ifelodun and Eti-Osa local councils from April 26 to May 1, 2021.
It was part of many series being organized by Project Alert/Spotlight Initiative in some local government areas across Lagos state.
The programme which held for two days in succession at each of the three local councils had the support from UN Women Nigeria, one of the UN Agencies engaging state and non-state actors to implement various activities under the six pillars of the Spotlight Initiative Project in Nigeria.
Participants at the workshop which comprised men and women were drawn from various community groups within the selected local councils. They included artisans, vulcanizers, tailors, mechanics, traders association, market women association leaders and physically challenged persons.
Others were representatives of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Muslim Community, CDA’s, National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) and local council.
The capacity building workshop with the theme “Prevalence of Sexual And Gender Based Violence in Communities and Steps to take including Referrals” was presented by the resource person, Dr. Princess Olufemi-Kayode, a sexual and gender based response expert and criminal justice psychologist.
She was ably represented by a lawyer, Ms Eseoghene Ajuyah, who lectured the participants on what gender based violence is all about, forms of gender based violence and legal remedies/referrals.
According to her, the purpose of the workshop was to educate and enlighten the participants that it is very necessary and obligatory to protect women and girls against domestic violence and sexual abuse/ harassment, adding also that it is the responsibility of the community to respond to sexual and gender based violence by reporting or referring any case or incidence of domestic violence or rape to Referral Centers/offices for appropriate actions and/or remedies.
The resource person described gender based violence as “any act of violence that results in or likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women.
“This includes threats of violence, coercion or arbitrary of liberty occurring in public and private”
“It is violence directed against a person because of the person’s gender and primarily targeted at the female gender”
She mentioned, explained and narrated forms of gender based violence with illustrations and cited examples. There are physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, economical abuse, harmful traditional practices, human trafficking and elder abuse.
REMEDIES/REFERRALS
Speaking on remedies/referrals for victims of SGBV, the resource person said that there are legal frameworks for victims of GBV in Nigeria.
One of such remedies is to follow the course of law, that is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(as amended)
“No law must be contrary to the provisions of the Constitution
*The criminal code operational in Southern Nigeria and the penal code in Northern Nigeria. However, these laws have some discriminatory provisions against women and girls that need to be reviewed.
*Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015. This is a federal act to eliminate violence in private and public life and prohibits all forms of violence against persons and provides maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders.
Eighteen States have domesticated the VAPP Act.
*The Child Rights Act which has been domesticated by 23 States nationwide.
It states in Section 11(b) that no child shall be subjected to any form of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
*The Domestic Violence Law of Lagos State (2007)
* Specific FGM laws in 13 out of the 36 States, which are Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Delta, Ebonyi, Oyo, Imo, Edo, Cross-River and Rivers.
About 600 participants comprising men and women featured and benefited in the workshop. ‘T’ shirts, face-caps and stickers with various inscriptions such as ‘Marriage is not a death sentence’ , ‘Say No to Domestic Violence’, written in local languages and English were shared to the participants. At the end of the workshop, 12 persons comprising men and women in communities from each of the three local councils were selected in the SGBV Community surveillance/support team to report any case or incidence of gender based violence/abuse to any of the organisations in the referral list given to them.