Gender Based Violence, GBV: KDSG Has The Highest Sexual Assault Referral Centres, SARC In The Country; Hafsat Baba

By Daniel Karlmax

Kaduna state government says it is committed to collaborate with development partners in tackling the menace of sexual and gender based violence in the state with a view to reducing it to the barest minimum.

Commissioner of Social Services and human development mallama Hafsat Mohammed Baba Stated this during a one-day Capacity Building workshop on Sexual and Gender based violence Organised for 30 women by Beular Future Leaders Foundation under the Sponsorship of United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA in kaduna State-Nigeria.

Represented by the director on youths development Mrs. Maryam muazu, the commissioner expressed the determination of government to collaborate with development partners through Community engagement to educate women on the scourge of Gender based violence to enable them have the right knowledge and channels to follow whenever such issues occur in their communities.

According to mallama Hafsat, kaduna State has the highest and largest Sexual Assault Referral Centers, SARC in the country with women and children shelters that accommodate those in trauma and crisis situation with a view to providing them with Psycho-Social and medical support, security and legal aid to ensure perpetrators are held accountable while victims get the needed justice and treatment for easy re-intergration into the society.

She identified the SARC Centers in the State to include:Yusuf Dantsoho memorial Hospital tudun wada, Gwamna Awan Hospital Kakuri, General Hospital Kafanchan and Gambo Sawaba Hospital Zaria which she opined had been effective in terms of data generation, usage and sharing, as well as priority in planning for interventions and care for citizens.

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Hafsat Baba pointed out that the state government through the ministry remains resolute in providing inclusive governance for all by giving priority to women and youths including people living with disabilities to promote human capital development which is one cardinal objectives of the current administration in the state.

Speaking also, Co-founder of Beular Future Leaders Foundation Mrs. Koni Bakka said the one day event was targeted at building the capacity of Community volunteers (Women) to serve as an intermediary between the people (Communities), and the regulatory agencies such as Sexual Assault Referral Centers, SARC, law enforcement agencies, and human rights commission.

She however pointed out that, the capacity building session sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA became imperative following the rising cases of SGBV in the society that routinely go unreported either due to ignorance or low socio-economic status of victims, and thereby called for concerted effort toward ensuring perpetrators of the act are brought to book to serve as deterrent for others with similar criminal tendencies.

Mrs. Bakka posited further that, the deadly scourge could be tackled via constant awareness creation and sensitization of parents, female children and youths, education and good parenting among others in the Society.

Some Participants at the event, Mrs. Caroline Nelson and Ginika Ethan who expressed gratitude to the Organization for enlightening them on issues relating to SGBV, described the event as timely and pledged to step-down the knowledge and skills acquired to their immediate communities to end the dreaded pathology.

During an interactive session, the participants identified lack of good parenting, indecent dressing, ignorance, poor parent-Child relationship, and lack of godly upbringing as factors that could contribute to the rising cases of SGBV in the Society, and called for synergy among societal stakeholders such as teachers, traditional and religious leaders, parents and people from all walks of life to take the fight against the menace seriously toward ensuring a sane and progressive Society.

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