NHRC Takes Campaign Against Sexual Violence To South West

The National Human Rights Commission Special investigation panel on Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Nigeria (SGBV) has deepened its campaign against sexual and gender-based violence in the South West.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu, who was one of the panelists at a seminar organised in Lagos by the Commission, told newsmen that sexual and gender based violence cases were usually under reported.

“This is a panel on sexual and gender based violence which was set up by National Human Rights Commission. The cases are becoming more endemic in the society. Every day, you hear attacks on young girls, helpless women, exploitation of school children, exploitation of people in authorities in the churches, and in work places so the scourge is becoming so worrisome.

“Also task forces which are set up by various government agencies arrest women and violate their rights in terms of perpetrating sexual and gender violence on them during their period of detention. We think that this cannot continue. We decided to set up this panel to hear people who have complaints, to encourage them to come and speak up because we noticed that part of why people don’t talk is because they feel that nothing is happening or nobody would deal with their cases or bring justice to them.

“We are extending our hands of fellowship to them to encourage them that they will not be victimized because we are hearing their complaints in privacy, so that they will not be stigmatized and we are seeing how we can bring closure and justice to them. That is the essence of the panel and also to review laws and regulations concerning sexual and gender based violence”.

“Also to design guidelines for schools and various aspects of society so that people can know how to do the right things”.

“We intend to sustain this campaign throughout all the geopolitical zones in the country. We have been in Abuja, we are now in the South West. We are going to other parts of the country to repeat the same thing,” he said.