Recent spikes in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been denounced by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
This was said by the agency’s Director-General, Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi, during a dialogue and sensitization session with community leaders from the six Area Councils of the FCT on Thursday in Abuja.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the agency’s 16-day campaign against SGBV included a sensitization seminar.
Between January and October 2022, 1,100 domestic SGBV instances were reported to the agency, according to Waziri-Azi.
The D-G claims that the amount of violence against women in the FCT is far too high, which is why there has been a push to raise awareness of the problem.
She said that out of the number of cases reported within the period, 126 were investigated, while 26 were resolved through mediation – Alternative Dispute Resolution, Reconciliation and Arbitration.
She added that out of the 126 cases investigated, 54 were withdrawn based on the request from the complainants while others were filed at the court.
“Most times when people come to report and we start investigation, sometimes we file those matters in court and start prosecution, the next thing the woman will write seeking to withdraw the case.
“In as much as it is thier right to decide to withdraw the case, we as an agency become usually very curious to know the reason.
“I tell you that 100 per cent of the time the reason why women withdrawn these case from the agency is because of societal pressure from family, community leaders and fear of deprival,” she said.
The director-general said that the agency had secured four convictions so far in 2022 with 84 cases pending in court.
“Majority of these cases including battering were reported from Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
“A lot of cases where men hit their wives and push them out of the house, child abuse, we have seen a lot of these around AMAC, some of them are currently with us at our shelters as we investigate them,” Waziri-Azi added.
The NAPTIP boss also talked about cases of abandonment of children from parents; either of both and cases of abandonment of wives and children from the fathers.
According to her, it is everybody’s responsibility to look out for such cases for themselves, and speak up against them, thereby helping to curb SGBV.
She, therefore, encouraged everyone passing through challenges of SGBV to report to the security agencies or NAPTIP on phone by calling 07030000203.
She added that reporting cases of SGBV was a moral obligation of all citizen.
The D-G also called on parents to teach their children, especially young boys, values of gender equality and to teach them on how to respect women, as well as respect their peers. (NAN)
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