AT least 27,698 cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) were recorded in five states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between 2020 and 2023.
Minister of Women Affairs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye said this on Friday, November 24, in Abuja, at a press conference commemorating the beginning of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence observed globally between November 25 and December 10.
She listed the states as Lagos, Sokoto, Adamawa, Ebonyi, and Cross River, where the Spotlight Initiative programme, an initiative of the United Nations (UN), funded by the European Union (EU), is being implemented.
“In the recorded cases, there were 1,145 fatal GBV cases, with 393 perpetrators convicted, 9,636 as open cases, 3,432 new cases, 1,741 as closed cases, and 1,895 follow-up cases, among others, within the period under review.
“It is commendable that the states have adopted the VAPP (Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act) Act, but governments at that level must ensure full implementation of the Act to protect women and children from all forms of violence,” she said.
Noting that a third of Nigerian women experience intimate partner violence at some point in their lives, Kennedy-Ohanenye called for more investments into ending all forms of violent acts against women to achieve the realisation of relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Statistics from the GBV data situation room estimates that 35 per cent of women, with one in every three Nigerian females experience violence at some point in their lives, mostly by an intimate partner,” she stated.
On Thursday, November 24, The ICIR reported that the FCT recorded 2344 GBV cases since January 2023.
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FCT Mandate Secretary for Women Affairs Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, who disclosed this, decried the challenges associated with reporting cases of GBV, adding that the government would take decisive actions to create more awareness of the issue.
Some of the survivors of GBV in the FCT include pre-teen girls, who have been made to endure breast ironing by parents or guardians as part of efforts to make them unattractive and less susceptible to rape.
The ICIR reported in September that breast ironing is being practised in FCT communities, including Pyba Sama in Apo and Kpaduma II, among others.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.