Group photograph of participants at the launch of the Womanity Index Gender-Based Violence report in Abuja
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Invictus Africa, a Non-Governmental Organisation in collaboration with Budg-IT has launched the 2023 Womanity Index Gender-Based Violence (GBV) report.
The report provides a comprehensive assessment of how the 36 state governments and the FCT, are performing in the commitment to preventing and responding to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) issues.
It also tracks how Laws and Policies, Access to Legal Justice, Support Services, Information and Awareness programmes, Budgeting and Spending are used to provide a robust GBV response framework at sub-national level.
The report is supported by Ford Foundation.
In the report, states ranking are indicated in four colours, namely; Blue, Green, Amber and Red.
Lagos state ranked top (the only ‘Blue State’) among states in Nigeria for their overall performance in handling Gender-Based Violence issues.
Close to Lagos state (Green States) are; Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, FCT, Kaduna and Ogun states.
The least performing states (Red States) according to the report are; Benue, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau and Zamfara.
In her keynote address at the launch of the report in Abuja on Monday, former first lady of Ekiti State and Co-founder, Africa Women’s Development Fund, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, explained that patriarchal norms, gender stereotypes, lack of unified framework, poorly equipped facilities to respond to GBV cases, poor funding and economic disparity are some of the contributory factors to GBV issues in Nigeria.
She noted that the rise in Sexual and Gender Based Violence, SGBV, makes it essential to scale up multi-dimensional approaches in combating all forms of GBV.
Eleru Fayemi however urged leaders in states with low performance in the Womanity Index report to adopt measures towards improving the prevention and response to GBV in their respective states.
The former Ekiti first lady also emphasised that strong political will by state leaders is critical to guarantee a future free from GBV.
She said, “Political will is needed to ensure effective implementation of any SGBV prevention or mitigation strategy. This is expressed through the personal commitments of political leaders, leadership from the front, allocation of required financial, material, human and technical resources and a commitment to adherence to best practices.
“There are currently at least 40 Sexual Assault Referral Centers
(SARCS) in 22 States in Nigeria and two in the FCT. Every State in the country needs a SARC, ideally more than one. Every State needs a Shelter. It is important for State Governments to take up this responsibility, regardless of whether there is donor funding available or not. GBV Survivors also need support to enable them make empowering choices. This is why we need a GBV Survivors’ Fund to make this happen.
“Alongside resources for the care of GBV Survivors, we need investments in our Mental Health infrastructure because of the links between mental health and GBV.
“We have to make the necessary investments in sensitization and awareness raising to make everyone a stakeholder in this issue. Communities, especially in rural areas, should be sensitized to work with relevant bodies on a range of intervention strategies such as counselling, reporting incidents of abuse, legal literacy, aiding the criminal justice system, and providing a strong support network for survivors of abuse.
“Communities should not take laws into their hands, but they should be prepared to support the implementation of laws and not obstruct justice which is what happens in many instances. Traditional rulers, religious bodies, political leaders, community associations and male champions are all key to this.
“Sexual and Gender Based Violence is a terrible scourge. We all need to fight back, without exception. Every victim deserves to be called a Survivor. We all have a voice, no matter how small. Let us use our voices to create a mighty sound”, she added.
The Chairperson, Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum, and First Lady of Kwara State, Prof. Olufolake Abdulrasaq commended the organisations for the initiative.
She assured that the forum will continue to support contributions
such as this, to bring to an end to GBV issues in Nigeria.
“It is priority to support initiatives such as this, to compliment efforts by other critical stakeholders in ending Sexual and Gender Based Violence and promoting women empowerment and representation”, she added.
