By Prisca Nguzo
Critical stakeholders in Imo State including members of Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, former lawmakers, traditional rulers and media experts have insisted that to end the prevalent violence against women and girls in the state, a specialized agency and court should be established to prosecute the offenders.
The stakeholders also urged collaborative support and partnership with the relevant authorities including the police, legal practitioners, and service providers towards achieving adequate protection of human rights and combating the menace in the state.
The call was part of the resolution reached at a one-day round-table meeting of the Imo State Committee on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (ISCEVAWG) formed by Alliance for Africa, AfA held in Owerri, recently.
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The stakeholders stressed that, "Violence against women and girls is festering and threatening to destroy the very essence of the society creating insecurity in homes and public sphere.
According to them, "Gender violence expresses itself in the forms of rape, spousal battery, incest,widowhood practices, female genital mutilation, forceful ejection from home, abandonment of children, stalking and so on."
They added that prevalent of gender based violence in the state is obvious and demands urgent intervention towards addressing the menace.
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Also, speaking to newsmen shortly after the meeting, Mrs. Blessing Duru, AfA Programme Manager said, "It saddens the heart however that three years since the signing into law of the VAPP bill, the Act is still in the cupboards gathering dust. This limbo perhaps explains the zero convictions of perpetrators and slow response to victims even in the face of rise in gender based violence in the State.
"It is on this strength and the increase in resurgence of violence in our communities, it becomes very expedient to establish the Agency for the Prohibition of violence against persons.
"The establishment of the Agency will demonstrate the readiness of the State to give life to the VAPP Act and grant relief to thousands who had suffered injustice in the hands of pepertrators of violence.
She disclosed that, "the Agency according to Section 55 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act also known as VAPP Law 2021 is the regulatory body solely set up to enforce the VAPP Law.
"In Section 57, the functions of the Agency include but not limited to monitor, supervise, formulate and provide policy guidelines for the implementation of the provisions of the VAPP Law.
"The Agency is to also manage the established Sexual Assault Referral Centre otherwise known as SARC (Deborah House) and offer free medical treatment, trauma counselling and support services to victims of violence."
"The Agency should also keep a register of sexual offenders among other activities necessary for giving full effect to the provisions of the Law. It should be noted that this law interestingly integrates the penal code, criminal code, the FGMC Law and others to give a comprehensive response to related matters." she added.
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In the same vein, Barr. Mrs. Ndidi Anike-Okeoma said, "we at the Imo State Committee on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (ISCEVAWG) particularly appeals to the State Government to put machinery in place towards the establishment of the Agency.
"We also call on all relevant stakeholders who have one role to play to the success of the implementation of the VAPP Law to stand and show capacity and willingness to be counted in.
"The Ministry of Women Affairs and Vulnerable Groups is the arrow head that should lead the pack.On their shoulders lie squarely the conception, guidance and direction in pushing for the establishment of the Agency for the Prohibition of the Violence Against Persons in the state.
"Other stakeholders include the Judiciary and the Planning and Budget Ministry whose primary function to give legal and financial support to the Agency cannot be over emphasized. Collaboration amongst relevant state actors and CSOs is key to achieving set goals."
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