1 of every 5 Nigerian women is victim of violence---Women Centre
(Nigeria) The National Centre for Women Development, NCWD, said on
Wednesday that one out of every five Nigerian girls/women was a victim of
violence.
The Director-General of the centre, Ms Onyeka Onwenu, said
this in Abuja during a roundtable organised by the centre and the U.S. Mission
in Nigeria to commemorate the 2013 International Day of Elimination of
Gender-based Violence.
Onwenu, therefore, called for collective action against
gender-based crimes in the country.
``According to the 2012 Gender in Nigeria Report, one out of
every five Nigerian women and girl aged between 15 years to 24 years has been a
victim of one form of violence or the other. More worrisome in recent times is
the increase in the violation of little girls ranging from two years to seven
years. Much of the violence perpetrated
against women and young girls are by people they know, and love and trust –
their boyfriends, their husbands, their brothers, other relatives, neighbours,
school mates, and even their colleagues.
``Recently, we heard about a Policeman who raped a two-year
old girl that he was supposed to be protecting. Every day, even weeks-old
babies are violated by fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, it is quite
shocking,`` she said.
The director-general also described as shocking, the
recurrent daily reports of gender-based violence and other crimes, especially
rape, in the Nigerian media.
``Gender violence in Nigeria suggests a conspiracy of
silence; this conceals the nature and the extent of the problem. More disturbing is the fact that violence is
endemic even in public institutions, including the police, educational bodies
where an entrenched ``culture of impunity” protects the perpetrators of rape
and other violence against women.
``While cultural values and norms in our society serve to
condone and reinforce abusive practises against women, manipulation and
misinterpretation of religious doctrines are used to place women and keep them
in bondage,`` she added.
Onwenu noted that in response to violence against girls and
women, a bill on Violence Against Persons Prohibition, VAPP, would be passed by
the National Assembly soon.
According to her, some states are also working on Gender
Equal Opportunity bills currently before the various Houses of Assembly.
In her remarks, Maria Brewer, the Deputy Chief of Mission,
U.S. Mission in Nigeria, said it was unfortunate that Nigeria was at the moment
paying a high price for gender-based violence against women.
``Many women from Nigeria are forced into prostitution and
human trafficking, die needlessly for lack of proper health care, face poverty
for lack of an education, and cannot live up to their potential to contribute
to a democratic and prosperous Nigeria.
``Because these women pay the cost of gender-based violence
with their bodies and their minds, Nigeria pays the price as a nation whose
potential remains unfulfilled while so many of its citizens continue to be
victimised,`` Brewer stated.
Presentations were made by the International Federation of
Women Lawyers (FIDA), Search for Common Ground, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria and
Teenz Global Foundation on violence against girls and women.
The U.S. Embassy also hosted a presentation on ``Promoting
the Rights of the Girl Child`` at Government Girls College, Dutse, Jigawa.
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