EU, UN Charge Federal Govt On Adequate Funding, Safety Of SGBV Survivors

The European Union (EU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other stakeholders have urged the federal government to make adequate budgetary allocations for provision of safe places for survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

They also urged the National Assembly to strengthen their oversight of the implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015.

EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, who spoke at a parliamentary summit in commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism against SGBV 2023 in Abuja at the weekend organised by the EU-funded Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC Phase II) Programme of International IDEA in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, said there was no budgetary provision for the implementation of the VAPP law, adding that this had created additional burden for mandated institutions and further traumatized the survivors of SGBV. 

She said; “I would like to make an urgent appeal to the National Assembly here to strengthen oversight on the implementation of the VAPP law so that survivors can access the services they need or ensure the effective prosecution of offenders.”

Resident Representative of the UNDP in Nigeria, Simon Ridley, pointed out that the legislature had an important role to play to ensure that institutions that attend to gender-based violence are properly funded, even as he expressed the commitment of the international organisation to eradicating the menace.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, decried the rising statistics on violence against women and girls in Nigeria, expressing deep concern over the situation while maintaining that concerted effort needed to be carried out to curb the menace.