Global Peace Development (GPD) has called on state governments in Nigeria that have yet to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act to do so.
The non-government organisation (NGO) made the call in a statement commemorating this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Nigeria has the third-highest rate of SGBV in the world, with data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) showing that at least 30 percent of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have experienced one or multiple forms of sexual abuse.
Available figures indicate that gender-based violence (GBV) in Nigeria has been on a steady increase despite the passage of the VAPP Act in 2015.
Victims of violence can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, traumatic fistula, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and even death.
The VAPP Act prohibits all forms of violence against persons, provides protection and effective remedies for victims of gender abuse.
However, not all the 36 states that make up Nigeria have domesticated the VAPP law.
According to the GPD Executive Director, Ebruke Esike, women’s rights have been most abused and neglected in Nigeria despite the passage of the VAPP Act and several campaigns launched to create awareness on such practices.
‘The VAPP Act which was passed by the National Assembly in 2015 was intended to eliminate all forms of violence against persons, provide maximum protection, effective remedies for victims, punishment for offenders and for other related matters’, the statement read.
The GPD boss called on government at all levels to take proactive measures to ensure that women and girls live a safe life devoid of exploitation, intimidation, and cultural impunity.
Also speaking at a press conference to kick off the 16-day activism drive in Nigeria, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Natalia Kanem, said that the UNFPA was focused on assisting Nigeria in its response to violence against women.
‘UNFPA intends to assist Nigeria to get to zero gender-based violence. Gender-based violence is a tragic circumstance and a crime that sadly will affect one in three women and Nigerian girls through their lifetime’, Kanem said.
Photo source: Kim Nowacki
