Victims Of Sexual-based Violence Tasked On Legal Redress

A legal practitioner Justin Gbagir has advised victims of Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBVs) to always use available legal provisions to seek justice in the competent court of law.
Gbagir who made this known in a presentation titled: “Understanding Gender, Women’s Rights and Gender Based Violence, Overview of VAAP ACT and Guidelines for Responding to cases of Gender-based Violence Responding to Cases of Gender-based Violence (GBV Reporting Pathways)” in Makurdi said although men’s rights are also violated the majority of persons suffering from SGBVs are women.

While urging them to also be cautious of sexual enslavement which he said is the order of the day, Gbagir urged parents and caregivers to always engage their wards on the basics of sex education saying, “education is the best way of curbing SGBVs anywhere.”
He attributed, high level of poverty, traditional and religious beliefs, substance abuse, and lack of sensitization to the rise in cases of SGBVs in the state.
According to him the consequences of SGBVs include, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion among others and called for adequate sensitisation.

Earlier, the representative of Concerned Women International Development Initiative (CWIDI) Becky Gbihi who explained that the project, “Enhancing protection from gender-based violence for female sex workers in Benue State” aims at improving their knowledge on the existing legal provisions.
According to her, “Investigation has revealed that most female commercial sex workers silently go through a series of torture and harassment in the hands of their clients and some persons with negative perception against them.”