Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim and the Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Mr Marc Fonbaustier has stressed the need for stronger national policy, stringent penalties against offenders, and awareness creation as means to preventing Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) in Nigeria.
Both spoke at a music concert organized by the French Embassy Against Gender-based Violence in Nigeria.
For the minister, her office’s focus is on the prevention of SGBV which requires the review and updating of Nigeria’s legal instruments and policies relating to the protection of citizens, to reduce their level of exposure to sexual and genderbased abuses.
“Most of our policies or legal instruments are outdated because when they were formulated, we didn’t have such an upsurge in SGBV in the country as seen today. An example is the penalties assigned for such offences. The current penalties don’t serve as a deterrent to defaulters. We don’t want to be abused. We have to come up with stricter punitive measures.”
Sulaiman-Ibrahim also underlined the need for concerted efforts in developing a National Action Plan towards ending sexual and gender-based violence.
In an earlier virtual meeting with stakeholders, the minister had called for the support of SGBV victims and operators of shelters and safe homes in Nigeria.
“We need to support victims. It is a clarion call. We do not have enough shelters or safe homes. And we have scarce resources. In spite of that, we must be intentional. We need to tap into the resources of our development partners, and we must align to a national action plan which must be accelerated.
“Expect a leadership (from my administration) that will support development partners, NGOs, Nigerian women, the media, to ensure better coordination. When we are better coordinated, no one would feel left out.
“We have a National Action Plan to deploy across all areas of support for victims to ensure that we prevent SGBV,” she said.
On his part, Ambassador Fonbaustier, highlighted the role of the arts in creating much needed awareness on SGBV; and the importance of exercising one’s power to give voice to the voiceless, as a means of ending SGBV.
Amongst the embassy’s programme during the global campaign are ‘Beyond The Silence’ (BTS) Ekondo and Hearts Heartist, artistic intervention deploying arts – music, dance, poetry and drawing to promote awareness on SGBV and healing for survivors among others.
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