WARD-C urges govt to invest in combating sexual, gender-based violence
. By Our Correspondent.
Women Advocacy, Research and Documentation Center Ward ‘C’, a non-governemntal organisation (NGO), has called on governments to invest in combating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in society.
The State Coordinator of the organisation in Niger State, Mrs Hassana Joan-Kpetu, made the call during a press briefing in Minna.
She also called on government at all levels to increase budgetary allocations to end violence against women and girls in the country.
Kpetu said the called became necessary following the adverse effect SGBV was having on the society.
According to her, sexual and gender based violence undermines both economic and social development and individual capacity to realise his or her rights and potentials under already stringent conditions.
She explained that the organisation had been working tirelessly to ensure that the menace of SGBV was brought to a standstill in society.
“We are calling on governments at all levels to invest in SGBV, increase their budgets to end violence against women and girls through collaboration with state actors and private sector partnership,” she said.
Kpetu further stressed that the purpose of the briefing was to draw the attention of the Niger government, legislators, local councils and stakeholders to ensure that 2025 budget reflects a human-centric approach where SGBV is prioritised.
According to her, we are just requesting 0.05% of the total budget to ensure that MDAs saddled with the responsibility of treating SGBV cases are adequately funded to combat issues of human rights violations and SGBV.
“These MDAs includes; Ministries of Women Affairs, Justice, Health, Education, Humanitarian and Disaster Management, and the Child Rights Agency,” she said.
She then suggested the engagement and participation of legislators as strategic partners in adopting a gender-responsive budgeting framework for the appropriate allocation of resources for the effective mitigation of SGBV in the state.
Contributing separately, the organisation commended Niger State House of Assembly for passing into law the Violence Against Persons Prohibition, VAPP Law.
She, however, appealed to house of assembly to ensure enforcement of the law making amendments in sections where punishments are not commiserate with the gravity of the offence.
Women Advocacy Research and Documentation Centre, WARD-C, is an NGO that has it’s presence across the 36 states of the federation including the FCT, Abuja.
WARD-C aimed at combating all forms of human rights violations, child abuse, gender based violence, and child labour against girls and boys, among others.
The press briefing was representatives of Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIFA) and National Council of Women Societies (NCWS.
Also in attendance were representative of Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), 100 Lobby Women Group and Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA).
