By Able Winnard, Everest Prince And Veronica Utsu
Experts and Stakeholders in the gender space have described gender-based violence as violence against women, boys, and girls.
This was expressed during a gender discussion on Hit 95.9FM, Calabar with the theme ‘breaking the silence’ with Gender and Development Action (GADA).
During the discussion, Barrister James Ibor who is co-founder of Basic Rights Counsel Initiative (BRCI), said “Gender-based violence is an offense as seen in the laws of Cross River State and the Child Right Law of 2023, which tackles violence against women and girls or gender-based violence.”
Also speaking, Kebi Ikpi who is the State Coordinator of Child Protection Network, also called for hands to be on deck, to stem the ugly trend of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
During the discussion, stakeholders noted that some local laws tackle the violence against women and sexual assault on girls or boys but regretted that the institutions that enforce these laws against GBV are poorly funded and poorly trained which is why most times survivors of sexual assault should form their investigation.
In pursuing justice against Sexual Genders Based Violence (SGBV) they noted that the Police should be sensitized and provided with enough equipment to do the work without fear or favoritism.
It was also noted that social protection policies should be functional; the government should fund the Ministry of Social Welfare and Community Development for the Legal pathway against SGBV.
Finally, there was the recommendation that to deplete the population of sexual abuse there is a need to never keep quiet, but fight to ensure that justice is done when you see something say something.
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