Group Advocates Effective Response Mechanism To Curb Sexual Violence 

KASA Initiative, an advocacy and public campaign aimed at addressing sexual violence, has called for preventive measures, and effective response mechanisms to curb sexual violence in Nigeria.

According to the NDHS 2018 report, approximately one-third (33%) of women aged 15-49 in Nigeria have endured physical or sexual violence.

Sexual violence, according to KASA, include rape, unwanted completed or attempted sex, unwanted touching, and pressured sex through threats or deception.

KASA, funded by the African Women Development Fund (AWDF) through White Ribbon Alliance (WRA) Kenya, stated this during a virtual meeting on it’s recent survey where over 5,000 women and girls across four states in the country where engaged.

The survey, which was carried out in Kaduna (1335 responses ) FCT abuja (1279 responses), Nasarawa (1811 responses) and Enugu (1001responses), sought to find the understanding of sexual violence in the communities, experiences and how it can be prevented.

Representative of the African Women Development Fund (AWDF), Christy Asala, who spoke at the meeting, said the data obtained from the survey is of great concern while

calling on the gender sector to always create a safe environment where survivors can share personal experiences.

She said “The data that we observed from the survey is a source of concern because the numbers are enormous.”

She said creating a safe environment will enable a lot of people to share their experiences especially the elderly ones, who have nothing to lose.

“Among the 5,426 respondents, about 47 percent disclosed that they had experienced sexual violence.

“Those above 60 years reported a 61 percent incidence, while respondents aged 21-30, 31-40, and 41-50 faced a shared rate of 51 percent. Respondents aged 51-60 encountered a 49 percent prevalence, and individuals aged 10-20 revealed a troubling 39 percent exposure to sexual violence,” Asala said.

Research monitoring and evaluation officer of the organisation, Charles Jang, who also spoke at the meeting said less data from ages 10-20 is a result of a lack of knowledge of sexual violence.

He stressed the need for strengthen response mechanism in the states, saying a lot of people are trying to break the culture of silence, but at the point where they will come and report, the procedure is not followed till the end.

“It is either the Ministry of Justice is not meeting up or the police force is defaulting,” he said