National Conference On Sexual & Gender-based Violence Response In Nigeria

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE 2 DAY NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE RESPONSE IN NIGERIA, HELD IN STATE HOUSE CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA ON THE 6^TH OF DECEMBER, 2018.

PROTOCOLS

For over 10 years now, my wife has run to shelters in Lagos for physically abused women girls. And so, in some sense, I have had rather close proximity to some of the stories, with some of the experiences of these women.

Some of the stories are almost stranger than fiction. For the woman whose husband burns her with a hot iron from her neck to her lap, so from her neck to her lap, one continuous scar. Or the pregnant woman working as a cleaner in a home who was beaten her boss and she lost her pregnancy. There was a case I had to refer for prosecution as Attorney General, was a house-help whose female boss had her hair scraped by the security man in her home with a blade, the next day the girl was reported dead. Bruised from a severe beating that she allegedly received from her female boss.

The stories are endless so are the varieties of the barbarity of these assaults. And the stories almost always show that the perpetrators exploit the powerlessness of their victims, that usually the victims have poor access to any form of redress, the perpetrators almost always escape justice.

So, the victim suffers double jeopardy. An oppressive act by someone more powerful, and the State also fail her by not giving her justice, all this happens largely because historically very little attention has been paid to gender-based violence. The key then, which is the point of this conference is how to get everyone to pay attention, work together, to creating coalitions and synergies that will effectively deal with the questions and issues around gender-based violence.

This attention is important, and must never be allowed to wane. By keeping in the limelight all of these issues of abuse we put ourselves in a stronger position to fully appreciate and successfully tackle the scourge. It is of course, heartwarming to note that every year, the world devotes about sixteen days, from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day, to advocacy and activism against Gender-Based Violence.

In the past few months, several cases of forced or illegal migration have been reported. Of course, the highest percentage and summary figures in excess of 70% trafficked Nigerians are female.

The heartbreaking stories of death and injury in harrowing circumstances are rife. But the situation is even more depressing by the realization that the reported or discovered cases are the tip of the iceberg, just a small sample of the actual number of our girls and women who are perishing in those tragic circumstances. Those who are lucky to escape death find themselves confronted with a fate just as terrible – life as sex slaves and in the most inhumane conditions imaginable.

Here at home, the dangers are just as real, an endless array of instances and scenarios that are nothing short of abusive: the constant flow of underage boys and girls into urban areas, who work as domestic helps and of course we’ve heard of the baby; the conscription of children as beggars; the stigmatization of certain classes of women as witches and of course many know of all of the various spiritual dimensions usually involving women. In fact, if you watch some of the home videos the witch had to be a woman, hardly do you ever find wizards in these stories.

The young girls indoctrinated to serve as suicide bombers; the women subjected to rape and other forms of sexual abuse – female genital mutilation, oppressive widowhood practices, etc.

The starting point for the conversation around abuse is that it can indeed be prevented. While we must ensure that abusers are identified and punished, the greater part of our efforts should go into ensuring that we do all in our power to prevent the abuse from happening in the first place, by proactively identifying risk factors and intervening decisively to deal with them before abuse happens. And when we speak of prevention, victims should not be put on the defensive.

All too often women and girls are advised and counselled on how to prevent or avoid rape, what to wear or not to wear, where to go or not to go, with little or no emphasis placed on engaging and counselling men and boys on how to treat women and girls properly.

The case for treating women and girls with equality and dignity is a self-evident one, and it really doesn’t need much debate. Women account for a significant part of the nation’s talent pool. And in fact, many will share about 60% of that talent pool and as do young people below the age of 18. Nigeria’s progress and prosperity, therefore, are of course greatly affected by its ability to safeguard its women and children.

We must never become accustomed to condoning the abuse of our most vulnerable people or to turning a blind eye to the exploitation of women and girls. A number of institutions in our society – social, cultural, religious – are complicit in the perpetuation of these forms of abuse. Government’s share of the burden of responsibility is clear, especially considering that it has the monopoly of the law enforcement role regarding gender-based violence.

Some of the steps that have been taken so far especially in the past three and half years or so to address violence against women and children include the work of the Rule of Law Advisory Team in Office of the Vice President collaborating with relevant agencies and non-governmental organizations working in the area of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the enhancement of reach and access of their protective services to victims.

The Team has been working, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, to set up a National Sexual and gender-based Violence Response Team and this team brings together all relevant line Ministries and agencies, including the Federal Ministries of Health, Justice, Education and the Nigeria Police, working closely with States and Local Governments as well as Community Based networks and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to address the various aspects of sexual and gender-based violence.

The team is responsible for giving support towards the establishment of gender-based Violence Response Teams across the States. These teams ensure that survivors have swift access to the right service providers. As a result of the activities of these teams, today, we have a better understanding of the coordinated approach that is needed to prevent and effectively respond to gender violence. Nigeria has in the past 2 years or so, in collaboration with our various partners set up Sexual Assault Referral Centers across the country from about 3 clinics in 3 states to now coming to nearly 20 clinics in about 12 states and still counting.

These Sexual Assault Referral Centers ensure the provision of quality forensic, medical, psychological, legal and aftercare services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Happily, we now have more States adopting laws and policy guidelines for holding perpetrators accountable through the rule of law. We are currently working on a uniform set of Standard Operational Guidelines that layout simple steps for effective response across the country.

Research-based evidence shows us already, that where the gender gap is greater in terms of economic participation and educational levels, women are more likely to be subjected to violence. That is why we have also tried to invest in providing some enhanced education and economic opportunities specific to women.

Economic empowerment is indeed is a prevention strategy for gender-based violence. Our GEP, which is our micro-credit loan, for small businesses, already almost 60% of that goes to women. And we try to focus most of our micro-credit loans on women who are either petty traders or small business owners.

Beyond this, however, we will continue to interact with service providers and policymakers like yourselves to make sure that legal frameworks such as the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, are fully enforced and that survivors are supported to easily navigate the legal system. For an effective solution to gender-based violence, I strongly believe that key sectors must cooperate and synergize their activities. Now, this is absolutely important. We cannot afford to work in silos, as one sector is dependent on the other to effectively carry out its work.

For instance, a rape survivor must have immediate access to a clinic that can administer emergency medical care, prevent disease transmission and unintended pregnancies and offer counseling. Survivors must also have a safe shelter to go to. Those who are victims of continuous violence ought to have an opportunity to stay somewhere else. Survivors who report to law enforcement agencies must have a level of confidence that justice will be served and their perpetrator will be punished.

We have also formed strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders, local and international, including the British Council and Partners who are here and whose commitments have proven valuable in supporting our efforts to succeed on the war against gender-based Violence in Nigeria.

Law enforcement is clearly a critical aspect. The need legal and policy frameworks and already, we have some in place, but the enforcement is key. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Gender Policy, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, and, at the international level, we have the International instruments promoting women’s human rights, etc.

What is needed is the judicious implementation of the extant law. And that requires involves not just law enforcement, but reporting. Ensuring that these cases are reported, ensuring that we follow up on reports and they’re so many organizations that are today working very hard, not just on calling out perpetrators but also on following through to ensure that perpetrators are given their just desserts.

This requires, of course, the active collaboration of the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to ensure that justice is dispensed boldly and decisively.

It is my hope that as we continue our deliberations here today and tomorrow all of the critical issues will be exhaustively considered. I want you to deliberate and especially to look at the role of men and boys in the war against Gender-Based Violence; the role of community and religious leaders as influencers of norms and practices; the role of citizens as effective mediators and the voice of victims in determining interventions; the need for alliances, how to strengthen existing collaborations, how to strengthen existing strengthened institutions, and for additional research that will provide us with the evidence that we need for more informed decisions on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence at all levels.

It is also my hope that the Workshop will end with a renewed commitment by all participants and stakeholders, to the fight against sexual and gender-based violence, and the protection of the rights and dignity of all the women and girls in our country.

Once more let me commend all our partners the World Bank, USAID, the British Council, the UN, UNFPA, WHO, others that have not been mentioned already, Pathfinder international, Save the children, Women Africa, Soar initiative, PIND, Belema Oil and Air peace.

Belema Oil and Air peace are of course private businesses that have chosen to identify with GBV causes. And I think they really deserve special commendation, they are one of very few.

Recognition and awards will be presented to select champions, organizations and Rule a Law Partners for their selfless service in gender-based violence response, improving access to justice and partnership in prevention efforts. I congratulate in advance, all the awardees and commend them all and I hope that they will continue to advance in the cause of justice and oppose gender-based violence wherever it is found.

Before I take my seat, let me formally, declare open this conference and wish you all extremely fruitful deliberation.

Thank you.