BY ODEYA OGBETUO
THE Development Initiative For Community Impact (DICI) and members of Delta State Working Group for the Implementation of Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law on invest in Sexual And Gender Based Violence (SGBV) have appealed to the Delta State Government to increase budgetary allocation to end violence against women and girls.
This call was made by the Delta State Coordinator of DICI, Dr. Rachael Missan Ruppee, while addressing newsmen at the NUJ Press Centre Warri, Delta State.
Dr. Ruppee said it became necessary to appeal to the Government and other well-meaning organizations to donate to curtail this widespread violence against women and girls so as to end the cycles of violence and inequality in our society.
She noted that sexual and gender based violence is a global pandemic with a staggering 35% of women globally have experienced either physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence should be addressed.
According to her “In Nigeria between January, 2020 and July, 2023 not less than 7,349 cases of SGBV were recorded with sexual and physical violence accounting for over 72% of these cases. In Delta State, the situation mirrors the national crisis. Reports from the Delta State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development indicate that over 800 cases of SGBV were recorded in the same period. Many of these cases involve young girls under 18 years, highlighting the vulnerability of minors. Alarmingly, 60% of these incidents occurred within domestic settings, perpetrated by individuals known to the victims.”
Dr. Ruppee stated that the passage of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP Act) in 2015 was a milestone in providing a legal framework to address violence against vulnerable populations, adding that the Delta State Violence Against Person (Prohibition) Law 2020 marked a critical step towards localized relocation but the impact of these law has been limited due to poor implementation, mechanism, lack of coordination, inadequate funding and insufficient enforcement capacity.
Dr. Ruppee specifically appeals to the Delta State House of Assembly, DTHA, to champion this cause by increasing the budget allocation for SGBV prevention and response in the state’s annual budget and equally urged civil society organizations, media professionals, community leaders and private sectors to advocate and support this initiative as a way to end violence against women and girls.
