Sokoto gets Sexual Assault Referral Centre

A Sexual Assault Referral Centre for women and girls who experience violence and harmful practices will be established in Sokoto next month. Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Kulu Abdullahi Sifawa disclosed this at the Spotlight Initiative Gender-based violence capacity building for CSOs pre-commencement workshop. She said the purpose of the workshop was to engage the […]

A Sexual Assault Referral Centre for women and girls who experience violence and harmful practices will be established in Sokoto next month.

Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Kulu Abdullahi Sifawa disclosed this at the Spotlight Initiative Gender-based violence capacity building for CSOs pre-commencement workshop.

She said the purpose of the workshop was to engage the communities on the referral centre to be established at the Specialists Hospital Sokoto.

The Commissioner lauded co-actors under the Spotlight Initiative including UNFPA, UN Women, UNICEF and assured of the ministry support to efforts towards tackling gender based violence.

Delivering a lecture on Sexual Violence in Nigeria, Managing Partner, Partnership for Justice ItoroEze-Anaba said the centre would be in place the end of March 2020.

She expressed concern over a high prevalence of violence against children in Nigeria.

“Child sexual abuse is not just a physical violation; it is a violation of trust. For every child that is raped others in the community are at risk,” she said.

She called for all hands to be on deck towards addressing gender-based violence in society.

“It is only when we join hands and work together that we can begin to think of a society that is free from rape,” she said.

Project Alert Spotlight Initiative Coordinator, Josephine Effah-Chukwuma noted the Initiative as a multilayer project by EU and UN focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls globally.