Ene Oshaba
Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL) a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) working to increase legal protection and fight for better choices for abused women and young people, has expressed worry over the continuous increase in Gender Based Violence (GBV), calling on relevant government agencies to ensure the implementation of human rights laws in the country.
Its Director of Programmes Barr. Dorothy Oleka, made the call in Abuja during a one day policy orientation training workshop for key government officials on the implementation of laws/policies and advancing human rights standards for women’s human rights agenda organized with support from UN Women spotlight initiative.
Oleka emphazised the need for key government officials to effectively implement treaty provisions that Nigeria signed unto, adding that this will fast track ending all forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and also enhance the human rights of women and girls .
“Our aim is re-orientate and strengthen the capacity of key government officials from varrious Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) to understand the laws around gender based violence and see how GBV is related to the work they do in order to cater adequately for women.
“If all MDA’s understand that their mandates either enable or contribute to ending gender based violence we will all be better for it so we want them to have a better view of how the work they do correolate with gender based violence,” she said.
“For example if there are housing development plans like housing schemes they should deliberately set a particular percentage for women and girls and probably bring down the requirements to enable acquire a house because we discovered that women who are battered remains in such homes becasue she doesnt have a house of her own to run to.
“Housing schemes should be made in a way that women could access housing and also chances should be created in the ministry of labour for more women to be employment so they can be economically empowered,” she stated.
One of the Facilitators at the training Ijeoma Ezeude, lauded Nigeria for the plethora of legislations against SGBV and all other forms of VAWG, she however called for its effective implementation
She urged for continuos sensitization so that citizens understand that they have to access existing laws and put the judiciary to work, justbas she tasked the judiciary and all agencies on attitudinal change.
Similarly, a Gender Expert Evelyn Terundu Ugbe, said GBV is currently a pandemic in Nigeria due to constant deaths, and other forms of abuses, stressing need for budgeting for GBV and institutions put in place to handle GBV like the Ministry of Women Affairs and other cross cutting agencies