Amnesty Int’l Tasks Federal Gov’t On Implementation Of Gender-based Laws

An international human rights group, Amnesty International, has called for the implementation of gender-based laws to ensure that perpetrators of gender-based violence (GBV) were made to face the wrath of the law.

Head of External Relations and Partnership at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), who spoke on behalf of Amnesty International, Dr. Blessing Ntamu, made the call during an interactive session with LEADERSHIP on Saturday in Calabar, Cross River State capital.

Ntamu, who spoke shortly after a roadwalk by University of Calabar female students, which was organised by Amnesty International to mark the International Women’s Day celebration at UNICAL campus, said that with implementation of gender-based violence law, men who bully, physically and emotionally assault women, would be prosecuted.

“What the government needs to do besides instituting the law is to ensure that laws that deal with gender-based violence are implemented,” she maintained.

The academic don advocated re-training of magistrates, lawyers, judges, the police and healthcare workers, saying that the re-training exercise will refresh their knowledge with gender-based issues.

“People who are custodians of the law, the lawyers, the magistrates, the judges need to be re-trained n issues bordering on gender-based violence, they should be trained to remind them on what femicide is, so that they can be aware,” she stated.

Ntamu, who spoke on the theme ‘Accelerated Access Against Femicide’, further stated that the fact that they are lawyers and judges are ‘learned men’ does not mean that they know everything on earth.

“Often times they take their stand based on what their knowledge is. We need to re-train the judges, lawyers and magistrates so that they will know what is happening around the world,” she maintained.

Also, coordinator of Amnesty International Support Groups in Cross River State, Mr. Gabiel Rockwell, averred that the roadwalk by female law students led by President of UNICAL Human Rights Clinic, Nwawubeg Kosisachukwu, was aimed at raising awareness on femicide, domestic violence and women rights.