How violence against women can be addressed

The murder of women and girls,  incessant abductions, sexual violence especially rape,  and domestic violence among others calls for concern as the country joined the rest of the world on Tuesday November 25 to mark this year’s  International Day of Violence Against Women and also kick start the 16 days of activism on violence against […]

The murder of women and girls,  incessant abductions, sexual violence especially rape,  and domestic violence among others calls for concern as the country joined the rest of the world on Tuesday November 25 to mark this year’s  International Day of Violence Against Women and also kick start the 16 days of activism on violence against women.
The 16 Days campaign runs from November 25, International Day of Violence Against Women to December 10 which is the International Human Rights Day to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights.
Violence against women is defined by the United Nations defines as “any act of gender based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty whether occurring in public or in private life.”
The main theme for this year commemoration is: “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World “Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Gender Based Violence”.
Violence Against Women comes in different forms such as wife battery, rape, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, wife battery, sexual harassment, female trafficking,  and harmful widowhood rites to mention a few.
“The frequency at which rape and abduction is being perpetrated has in most recent times become a cause for alarm, and in all these cases, women and girls are always the helpless victims,” said Minister of Women Affairs and Social   Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina during the recent celebration of the International Day of Violence Against Women.
The minister said there is a long standing failure to protect women from gender based violence adding that we must address economic, social, and cultural issues particularly gender inequalities that cause gender based violence and make women and girls vulnerable.
The Home Front sought the views of various stakeholders through interviews on how violence against women can be addressed.  
Women and human rights activist and President of Women Arise for Change Initiative, a non-governmental organization, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin said beyond advocacy which is what most of people are doing now there is need to develop a law and policy reform mechanism.
“Most of the laws in Nigeria and even government policies are not gender responsive, so we need to review our laws and policies to promote women and girl rights. The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Bill needs to be passed into law,” she said.
A survivor of rape who simply wants to be known as ladyX said there should be massive enlightenment campaigns especially for men who are the most perpetrators.
“Women and girls should also desist from trusting men too  much or leaving them with their little daughters even if they are close relatives and friends. I also encourage survivors to open up to their families and also report to the police or other concerned authorities instead of remaining silent. The police should also stop treating issues of violence against women as laughable or family matters ” she said.
National president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)    Hauwa Shekarau in an interview said if the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) bill is passed into law it will help address the issue of deterrence, the challenge of perpetrators of violence going free, or the culture of impunity that we are seeing in our country.
“Over the years we have seen very ridiculous sentences being handed down by the courts . I have read in the papers where someone pleaded guilty to rape and in sentencing the person, the judge recommended that he should be given 20 strokes of the cane and allowed to go. For some of us who are women rights activists, we see this as some kind of insensitivity to the main issue by some of our judicial officers, and who don’t seem to understand what women go through when they are victims of sexual violence,” she said.
She said possibly that might explain why sexual violence is so much on the increase. “With the high rate of sexual violence, it is rare to hear of convictions where maximum punishment  are melted on a guilty perpetrators. As long as we shy away from giving maximum punishment for such offences, it will not serve as a deterrent to anyone. One of the reasons for laws is to serve as a deterrent for future offenders and for them to know that they cannot commit an offence and go scot free,”  she said.
In addition she said the bill is at the senate awaiting second reading saying contrary to the criminal laws which stipulates that someone who is guilty of an offence could be punished up to a period of seven years, the VAPP bill says you cannot go below the minimum and one of the recommendations of the bill for rape for instance is life imprisonment.
In the same light, Mrs Amina Suzanah Agbaje a private legal practitioner, Notary Public and Managing Partner Lex Suites (a Law Firm in Abuja) and current Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers FIDA (Nigeria) Abuja branch said violence against women can be addressed by ensuring that the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Bill is passed into law by the National Assembly.
She said current laws in Nigeria protecting persons, especially women and girls from violence are inadequate and discriminatory with stringent standard of proof.
She adviced  women facing domestic violence to keep their phones and some money on them at all times.
 “Keep your phone with credit always as you do not know when situation will erupt. Have some cash in your hand in the event that you need to make a run for your life. Put the right numbers on speed dial on your mobile phone for example close friend, co-workers or family members who can be on standby to get you out of the situation or act as witness. And if you fear that your phone may be seized, memorize all important numbers to enable you call from a public phone.
“Always have an audience. Being in company of other people will keep the violence in check, and if it happens people will readily step in to intervene or you will at least have witnesses,” advised Agbaje.
Ex President of the Abuja Branch of Soroptimist International, Mrs Medinah Huthman, an organization made up of business and professional women who work to improve the life of women and girls particularly in rural communities said the best way to stop violence against women is to involve the men who mostly perpetrate the crime.
 “That is why we appeal to them to understand that violence is not the answer. We have also been on International Women Day walks to Nyanya village  Abuja to make men aware that women are also human beings and stop violence against women,” she said.
Stakeholders in the civil society and law enforcement sectors in the Federal Capital Territory during their meeting organized in June this year by the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) with support of IPAS, an international nongovernmental organization in Abuja called for the passage of the Violence against Persons Prohibition Bill into law in order to help curb sexual violence in the country.
Secretary General of WRAPA, Hajiya Saudatu Mahdi said sexual violence has serious short and long term consequences on the physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health of victims and their children adding that there is need for change on societal perceptions of sexual violence and stigmatization of survivors.
Dr Fatima Mairami of the National Hospital Abuja at the meeting called for the amendments of the present laws saying the issue of witnesses and government designated hospitals for tests on sexual violence has often posed a problem.
 Barrister James Oluwashegun said the only way issues of sexual violence can be completely checked is for all to support the passage of the violence against Persons Prohibition Bill.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Ojukwu said there is need to sensitize men and ensure they participate in meetings on sexual violence because they control most sectors in the society.
He emphasized the need for victims to preserve evidence of sexual violence saying some victims have ignorantly eliminated evidence thereby hampering prosecution against perpetrators.
 Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Ms Onyeka Onwenu in an interview with the Home Front said there should be provision of shelters  where women can run to for safety and help when they are abused or their lives are in danger.
She said: “Let us make sure that men that brutalise their wives or girlfriends are punished because it is a crime, no two ways about it especially the issue of rape.”
Onwenu said one of the issues she dealt with early in her career was a young woman called Charity who was one of the first known victims of acid bath  whose boyfriend bathed her with acid because she decided to leave him and totally disfigured her.
She said: “No matter what we did at that time nothing was done to the young man who perpetrated the crime. If we begin to make sure that our laws work and are seen to work without any excuses like letting people off the hook because they are men, then we will discourage more people who think it is okay to harm women.”