GBV: Kano records 800 cases of rape, domestic violence in 11 months
GBV: Kano records 800 cases of rape, domestic violence in 11 months
As Stakeholders task Kano Govt on speedy passage of VAPP, Child protection bills
Dec 7, 2022 – 19:41
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Over 800 cases of rape, domestic violence, sexual abuse, online harassment from have been recorded in Kano State from January to November, 2022.
The disclosure was made by the Gender Officer, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Hajiya Zainab Aminu, who decried the ever rising cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Kano state.
She spoke after a road walk to commemorate the 2022 16 Days Activism against GBV from National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Perrsons (NAPTIP), Kano office, to Kano state House of Assembly.
She called on the Kano State House of Assembly to, as a matter of necessity, pass into law the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) and the Kano state child protection bills, to enhance the fight against sexual and gender based violence.
Hajiya Zainab Aminu explained that the aim of the road walk was to create awareness on GBV and advocate for the speedy domestication of the bills by relevant stakeholders.
She noted that, if passed into law, the laws would go a long way in curbing the menace, where perpetrators would be prosecuted in order to have a safer society.
Hajiya Aminu, therefore, expressed concern over the delay by Kano State House of Assembly, in passing the Child Protection bill, saying that domestication and implementation of the act would help to curb gender-based violence in the state.
According to her, “Gender-based violence must be put to a stop because it is an evil act. It ranges from rape, battery and child molestation, among others.”
Also speaking, Head of Department, sexual and gender based violence, NAPTIP Kano zonal command, Hajiya Rasheda Aminu Ibrahim, highlighted that lack of VAP act in Kano limits the prosecution of SGBV offenders.
She said, NAPTIP zonal command which compromises of Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna and Bauchi states, was committed to eradicating sexual and gender based violence, child labour and molestation, human trafficking, among others.
In a related development, the CITAD Program Officer, Digital Rights, Alhaji Ali Sabo, has said that “due to the refusal of the president to assent to this bill, Nigerians have been witnessing an increase in the violation of their digital rights by the Nigerian government and its security agencies.”
He said that it is imperative to know that assenting to this bill would pave the way for more development in the country and drive the country’s digital space to a better level.
According to him, the bill when assented to, will strengthen the citizens’ right to the internet and its free use without undue monitoring
He said that it would help in identification of true owners of personal data which are the owners themselves and the bill will also encourage the stipulation of due process that should be followed before access is granted to government agencies and others to personal data of citizens
He also noted that there were rampant cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) because president Muhammadu Buhari has not assented to the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill in Nigeria which was passed by the National Assembly since 2018.
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