Terrorism: FG, UNODC Urge Protection For Gender-based Violence Survivors

The federal government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have tasked first responders to ensure that every response to gender- and sexual based violence linked to terrorism protects survivors from further harm.

They made the commitment at the Second Expert Group Meeting on the Development of a Toolkit for First Emergency Responders in Cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Linked to Terrorism in Abuja.

The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, represented by the National Coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka, said sexual and gender-based violence can leave survivors facing lasting

physical injuries, psychological distress, stigma and barriers to rebuilding their lives. He added that families and communities also bear the consequences.

According to him, behind every discussion of response procedures, documentation and accountability is an important principle: “the safety and dignity of survivors must remain our foremost concern,”.

He said, “For anyone who has experienced sexual violence, the manner in which assistance is first offered can influence their willingness to seek further care, their confidence in public institutions and their path towards recovery. First, emergency responders therefore occupy a critical position.
They may be the first to recognise that sexual violence has occurred, the first to receive a disclosure and the first to connect a survivor with medical care or protection services. They often work under severe pressure, with limited resources and competing demands”.

He explained further that the toolkit under consideration seeks to equip responders with practical guidance for such circumstances.

“Its development offers an opportunity to strengthen the connection between emergency assistance, survivor protection and the preservation of information that can support investigations. We must keep one clear principle in view: every response should protect survivors from further harm. Urgent care, privacy, dignity and appropriate referrals must guide the initial encounter. Responders must also understand the limits of their responsibilities and know when specialist assistance is required”.

In his remarks, the Country Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Cheikh Toure, said terrorist groups deliberately use sexual and gender-based violence to terrorise, punish and control their victims.

“They perpetrate these crimes against women and girls, as well as men and boys, and target entire communities on the basis of their faith, ethnicity or political identity. The harm does not end when an attack is over. Its consequences can endure for years, compounded by stigma, displacement and barriers separating survivors from the care and justice they deserve.

He cautioned that the toolkit will only be as good as the practitioners who help shape it.

He reiterated that the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014 showed the world the devastating consequences of Boko Haram violence.

“The abductions, forced marriages and sexual enslavement associated with the insurgency in the North-East demonstrated that such crimes were not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate method of terror. This is a global challenge. It is not confined to one religion, ideology or terrorist organisation. That is precisely why this toolkit must draw on experiences from different contexts while remaining firmly anchored in the rights, safety and dignity of those affected,” he said. According to him, the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council have made their position on the abduction of girls and women.

He explained that the Security Council Resolution 2331 of 2016 recognised sexual violence and trafficking as tactics used by terrorist groups, while Resolution 2467 of 2019 called for a survivor-centred approach to addressing conflict-related sexual violence.

He added that the General Assembly also reaffirmed these commitments through successive reviews of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

He said that while the international commitment exists, consistent implementation has been lacking on the ground in countries such as Nigeria. “A resolution alone does not reach a survivor. What matters is whether its principles translate into practical action and whether countries can adapt and implement them within their own national systems. I therefore trust that Nigeria will demonstrate the commitment required to domesticate this guidance and ensure that survivors across its 36 states are not left behind”.

Toure said, corroborating that first, emergency responders operate under some of the most challenging conditions imaginable.

“They may arrive during or immediately after an attack, amid continuing insecurity, mass casualties, limited resources and the overriding responsibility to save lives. “Under such circumstances, signs of sexual violence can easily be missed. Evidence may be destroyed, survivors may become dispersed, and stigma may deepen”.

Speaking further, he noted that the way survivors are received at the “first point of contact can determine whether they feel respected, whether they trust the response system and whether they can access the care and protection they need.

“A response that respects dignity, protects confidentiality and facilitates appropriate referrals can build trust and reduce the risk of further harm. Documentation and evidence preservation, where safe and within the responder’s role, can also make a difference between a crime being recorded and a perpetrator ultimately being prosecuted.

“However, the order of priorities must never be in doubt: the survivor’s safety comes first; the case file comes second”.

He warned that “evidence gathered at the expense of a survivor’s safety and dignity is not the kind of evidence we should seek. We must also confront the practical realities facing responders. In some settings, personnel may lack appropriate equipment, evidence-packaging materials or the technical skills required to preserve evidence properly,”.

Toure posed, “How, then, can we ensure that the systems within which they operate are adequately equipped and aligned with established standards to enable an appropriate response?” He continued, “A survivor should never have to recount a traumatic experience repeatedly simply to access the services they need. Effective coordination should minimise this burden while ensuring appropriate care, protection and accountability.

“Our commitment is straightforward: we will remain engaged with this work and its partners until the toolkit reaches the first responders who need it in Nigeria and other countries confronting terrorism”.