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All stakeholders must do more to protect our women

That violence continues to manifest itself in new forms and trends against women and girls in Nigeria is no longer a matter of conjecture. One in every five Nigerian women aged 15 to 49 has experienced physical or sexual violence, according to the latest statistics from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). The report emerged last Tuesday during their collaboration with the European Union (EU) and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) on how the media could be used to challenge institutional failures and break the culture of silence surrounding sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the country.

Despite the stringent provisions in the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015, there is hardly a day without a report of a man visiting violence either on his spouse or girlfriend. The law prohibits, among others, abandonment of spouse, children and other dependents without sustenance, battery, and harmful traditional practices. It provides a legislative and legal framework for the prevention of all forms of violence against vulnerable persons, especially women and girls, and prohibits economic abuse, forced isolation and separation from family and friends.

 We therefore endorse the initiative unveiled in Abuja under the EU-supported End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Programme, with journalists receiving specialised training to investigate and report cases of sexual and gender-based violence more effectively, ethically, and sensitively. We cannot continue to ignore the societal upsurge in these occurrences, for the implications on our collective psyche, as citizenry, and our development as a nation.

 From physical and verbal abuse to rape and even murder, it is evident that relevant authorities are not doing enough to tackle this menace. While spousal abuse indeed cuts across both sexes, women are predominantly the victims in the country. Yet abused women rarely report the violence they endure, for fear of being stigmatised by the society. Besides, the patriarchal interpretations within our various faiths preach endurance.  This has largely led to the current climate of impunity. 

 Against the background that curbing these tragic incidents is a collective responsibility, both the authorities and the society must be alerted to the fact that battery and assault remain felonies in our law books, even where inflicted between spouses. We also understand that ignoring the subtle signals of violence can only lead to fatal consequences as we have witnessed lately. To worsen matters, assault and battery, even though serious offences, are hardly ever perceived as crimes by many of our law enforcement agencies, unless the acts ultimately culminate in the occurrence of death.

 It is therefore imperative that all relevant stakeholders make more efforts to understand the underlying causes and dynamics of this growing violence, if only to redeem the stability of the family unit, and the larger society. But for this initiative to achieve the desired results, it should expand its orbit beyond the media. It is, for instance, a notorious fact that even when complaints of violence and abuse (against family members) are made at our police stations—where girls and women can summon the courage to do so—they are often dismissed as domestic matters, especially where such violence occurs between spouses.  

 We need the collaboration between the media, security agencies and government, at all levels, to effectively address these concerns. That is the only way to assure our women and girls that we care about their welfare and wellbeing, and the health and prosperity of Nigeria.