FG To Prosecute Gender-based Violence Perpetrators

Federal Government has said it would no longer be business as usual for perpetrators of school-related gender-based violence.

The attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, Prince Latest Fagbemi (SAN) said perpetrators of SRGBV would be promptly brought to justice and dealt with decisively.

The AGF, during the launch of the Standard Operating Procedure for the prosecution of perpetrators of SRGBV in Abuja, perpetrators would henceforth be prosecuted for the crime.

Fagbemi said, “At present perpetrators are at best subjected to administrative sanctions such as suspension and dismissal and are rarely prosecuted for these heinous crimes. Thus, it is incumbent upon us, as a society, to confront this scourge head-on and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice swiftly and decisively. “

He lamented that SRGBV cases were prevalent in primary and secondary schools across the country.

He noted that apart from infecting victims of diseases, the scourge was capable of making the victims commit crimes in the future.

Fagbemi said, “From available statistics, SRGBV is highly prevalent in the primary and secondary schools across every region in the Country.  It has devastating consequences for victims including low self-esteem, depression, early and unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, as well as disruption or termination of education. It also increases the probability of victims experiencing or perpetrating violence in the future. “

Also at the launch, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN, lamented that the menace had been affecting attendance in schools across the country.

He said the SOP would help in reducing the increasing rates of SRGBV in learning institutions across the country.

Tahir said, “This SOP is very crucial in addressing the menace in our educational institutions, which is the incidence of violence either physical, emotional, or whatever in our tertiary institutions to our basic schools.

These incidences are a major source of constraint in school attendance and retention, especially at the lower level across schools in Nigeria.

“And they prey on very vulnerable students, knowing fully well that more often students may not report because of the complexity of seeking redress.

So they hide behind that and perpetrate these vices. This SOP will help deter them as it will ensure a speedy way of dealing with perpetrators. “

Sexual harassment remains a persistent concern in Nigerian educational institutions nationwide.

Currently, a University of Calabar Law professor, Cyril Ndifon is facing trial on accusations of sexually harassing students of the faculty.

An Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission’s star witness,  a diploma graduate,  on Tuesday, accused  Ndifon of demanding her virginity in exchange for admission into the LLB programme.

‘Nigeria’s Female Genital Mutilation 19.9m Figure Worrisome’

BY KALU EZIYI, Umuahia

The director, Centre for Gender, Youth and Child Development, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Prof. Ifeoma Mabel Onwuka has said the country’s Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) figure of 19.9 is alarming.

Onwuka spoke to LEADERSHIP on the ocassion of the 2024 Day Against Female Genital Mutilation in Umuahia, Abia State capital, adding that the figure which places the country as the global third highest calls for concern.

She described this year’s theme of the occasion; “Her Voice, Her Future,” as apt and timely, calling for a collaborative effort “to end the practice because of its proven health and psychological consequences’ ‘.

She lamented that despite medical practitioners’ warnings against the practice, which include severe bleeding, urinating problems, cysts, infections, complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths, it had continued.

According to the professor of soil Sscience “There’s an urgent need to invest sufficiently to reach the target set in the Sustainable Development Goals of eliminating FGM by 2030.”

Onwuka stressed that non-governmental organizations and other critical stakeholders should partner to promote the elimination of the practice through collaborative and systematic efforts.

“The time is ripe for collective efforts to eliminate this unhealthy practice against female gender. It violates their rights to health, free from torture and inhuman treatment, security and physical integrity.

She announced that the centre is open for collaboration with relevant agencies to amplify the voices of survivors and support their efforts to reclaim their lives, based on their bodily autonomy.