Stakeholders have called on the Nigerian government to pay adequate attention to the incessant cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) among adolescent girls in the country.
A PhD student of Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, Switzerland,Olutoyin Ikuteyijo made the assertion while disseminating her research findings on the project topic titled “Adolescent Girls and Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in Nigeria: Policy Issues and Perspectives” in Lagos state Southwest Nigeria.
Mrs. Ikuteyijo who gave summary of her research work which was conducted in Agege area of Lagos state and Ibadan south east local government of Oyo state Southwest Nigeria, said the research is on adolescent girls who experienced gender based violence especially those who are living in the slums with focus on the survivors.
The researcher identified lack of access to support services, insufficient funds to facilitate available services; long process of justice for survivors; lack of SGBV policy knowledge among young people and lack of proper awareness and sensitization programmes as factors affecting reduction or eradication of SGBV in Nigeria.
According to her, “it is important we know that these young people cannot come and speak for themselves unlike the adults who can speak for themselves. It is important for us to understand why we need to pay attention to young girls.
“A lot of states have adopted the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (2015) but understanding the law among the people is still very low. The law needs to be simplified in such a way that the layman will understand the law and understand the consequences of the law.
“There should be decentralisation of gender-based units in the primary health centres, with special clinic for adolescent and young adult needed to be prioritised that beyond curative approach, health providers need to play preventive role in addressing SGBV and that there must be collaboration between the legal system and various stakeholders, serving as an interface between survivors, perpetrators, and the justice system.”
X-raying the importance of the research work, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile-Ife, Osun State, Professor Akanni Akinyemi, who is also one of the supervisors of the project in Nigeria, averred that the research work focuses on one of those menaces that young people face in terms of the intimate partner violence and particularly when they are exposed to some of those issues that affect their health.
According to the Professor, “this is one of the projects we have been working on, looking into what we called the vulnerable groups in Nigeria, so within those vulnerable group‘s context, young people’s health is one of those paramount issues. When you also look at young people’s health we have done a lot around it.”
He stressed the need for the older persons to learn and try to listen to the young people more.
“We must be willing to listen to the plight of these young people and see how we can break the culture of silence among those that are affected and see how we can help to build a better society.”
Prof. Akinyemi who commended the Lagos State government for their firm and radical approach to tackling the incessant sexual gender based violence among the adolescent girls, appealed to other states of the federation to emulate their kind gesture.
In the same vein, Deputy Director, Office of Public defenders in the Lagos state ministry of Justice, Odusanya Olajide solicited timely despensation of justice to the victims to send signal to the perpetrators that sexual and gender based violence is a punishable offence that government frowns at in Nigeria.
He called for attitudinal change of the perpetrators and regular sensitization programme that would enlighten them of the existing laws that criminalizes sexual gender based violence in our societies.
“Nigerian government should make sure they deal with corruption cases in the judiciary sector and fast track dispensation of the delayed justice. Though,there is a saying that says ‘an idle hands is the devil workshop’ ,the perpetrators of this criminious act are majorly the ones that live in the slums or ghettos who are affected by social and economic factors.
What is obtain in Lekki or Ikoyi is not obtainable in Agege or Ajegunle because level of their reasonings is different from each other, even the level of exposure are not the same,” he explained.
The stakeholders engagement attracted participants from the academia, NGOs, CSOs, officials from the ministry of health, ministry of justice, the Nigeria Police Force, adolescents’ girls and young women.
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