Kuje local council of the Federal Capital Territory is set to establish Sexual and Gender Based Violence Centre in all its ten political wards to clampdown on the growing menace.
Delivering a speech at a one-day community advocacy/dialogue on issues of SGBV organised by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for stakeholders in Kuje, the Council Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Sabo who noted that: “Violence against women and girls in any form is the manifestation of profound lack of respect and a failure by men to recognize the inherent equality and dignity of women,” said that the council would set up response centres across the 10 political wards in Kuje Area Council to support the fight against SGBV.
The Chairman who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Abdullahi Sabo (Snr), said: “The time for complacency has long gone, it is time for action, we can no longer watch over 70 per cent of women in our communities face physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
" Therefore, for an effective response to this menace, the need for different sectors in the society to collaborate and work together cannot be overemphasised.
"We indeed pledge to do better for survivors of SGBV. As an institution, we need to do more to support victims and hold the perpetrators accountable.
"We have to do more to respond to the cry for justice for women and children who have suffered violence.”
On her part, the NAPTIP Director-General, Prof Fatima Waziri-Azi, said that the aim of the dialogue was to discuss the unique roles of all community stakeholders towards reducing SGBV in the FCT.
She said that it was also aim at empowering community members to recognize early signs of abuse, intervene effectively create a culture that does not tolerate violence.
"We must collectively continue to create a supportive environment where victims feel empowered to report cases of SGBV, this lies in the hands of the communities.
She said that parents are been complacent by failing to protect their children in abusive and exploitative situations.
The DG encouraged Nigerians to report cases of SGBV to NAPTIP, while also stressing the need to preserve evidence especially in cases of rape.
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