The Police, Religious and Traditional leaders have been advised to make deliberate efforts in ensuring that access to justice over gender based violence becomes cheaper or free.
A Non Governmental Organization, Dorothy Njamanze Foundation made the call during an Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue on Combatting gender based violence at Abaji in Abuja.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Mrs. Dorothy Njamanze decried the expensive nature of the justice system in the country, stressing the need for the urgent implementation of the Child’s Rights Acts, Disability Rights Act and Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act.
“Sexual and gender-based violence is making a lot of people who are still alive wish that they are dead, you know, and struggle with, you know, reintegration into society.
Even if accessing them is accessing them through leaders of faith and culture. Tell the leaders of faith and culture where these resources are. How can they get first-year rent? How can they get money for children to go back to school? How can they get money to get medical bills sorted out? How can they get money, you know, to navigate the access to justice system if it continues to remain expensive? Who pays for the lawyers that are needed? Mrs. Njamanze asked. When children come in contact with the law, are they further criminalized or is the law sensitive to the fact that they are children and respect the provisions of the law to uphold their dignity as children, considering the fact that they are not as aware as we are as adults? The fate of persons with disabilities, to what extent is the government ensuring implementation of the Disability Rights Act? Implementation is falling behind”.
“Access to justice becomes free because we budget. So what are we budgeting for if our budgets are not inclusive? What is leadership if leadership is not inclusive? And to that extent, if the government becomes more responsible, taking into cognizance the realities of those of us that are vulnerable because of our exposure to violence and make sure that leadership, you know, leadership benefits, we benefit from leadership as well, then, I mean, Nigeria is better off for it. There is a lot that Nigeria is losing because the people who are victims of violence are not empowered enough to contribute to the economy”.
Mrs. Njamanze explained that the event was a non-confrontational interfaith dialogue to prevent gender-based violence, as such violence was taking lives.
“So we recognize that leaders of faith and culture have a lot of influence on people and in community. So to that effect, we want them to convert their gatekeeping roles into active bystanding roles so that they can support victims of people at risk, you know, who need different kinds of intervention, and also ensure that people don’t even get to be at risk in the first instance. If they know their limitations within the provisions of the law and stick to their limitations and support police to ensure that perpetrators are put where perpetrators need to be and not hidden in societies, then chances of reoccurrence will be limited”.
She called for the abolition of harmful traditional practices. “Also, you know, a lot of all these harmful normative practices, the ones that have traditional inclinations, tradition is dynamic, culture is dynamic. It is people that created culture, and the law makes provision for the abolition of harmful traditional practices. So if we have leaders of faith and culture on our side, then together, we can ensure that the ones that are rooted in traditional practices are actually abolished”.
It doesn’t do communities good if people continue being harmed or lives continue being cut down, you know, or lost. So again, what people do not want, they should ensure that they don’t do it to other people. What people don’t want another person to do to them or God to do to them, they should ensure that they don’t do it to another person.
Mrs. Njamanze stressed the need for the roles of various stakeholders to be strengthened.
“So we expect that the role of the traditional institution, the role of the religious institution, which are critical in society. Everybody claims they are doing everything for God or because of God. So if we’re able to bring these people together because of God, prevent gender-based violence, it means that we are going to be saving more lives”.
A 19 year old survivor of gender based violence, name withheld alleged that her father sexually abused her from the age of seven.
“I am 19 years old. I’m a survivor of sexual and gender-based violence. I was sexually abused by my dad. So I told my mom about it.
My mom was like, you’re just a child and you don’t know what you’re saying. So at the age of eight, my mom saw that my dad was sexually abusing me. My mom took her phone and wanted to call my dad’s people.
But my dad begged her and so she forgave him saying that she’s trying to protect her marriage. So this happened for a good nine years and it wasn’t so easy for me. Although I also have some physical scars from him through the beating and all that”.
She alleged that her mother also antagonized her and that the culprit is still free.
“Most of the times when I get my mom angry, she’ll be like, I don’t blame you because we’re eating from the same plate, that’s why. The last time I heard anything concerning the case was last two years. I found out that he’s even walking freely on the streets and they’ve not done anything about the case”.
During the event, some religious and traditional leaders gave an assurance of more commitment towards ensuring a safer community devoid of gender based violence.
