The Executive Director, YouthHub Africa, Mr. Rotimi Olawale has stated that Nigeria does not have enough laws that protect women and girls against sexual and gender based violence in the country.
Olawale while speaking in Abuja at the YouthHub Africa Men’s Summit stated that there are many women who are bastardized and thrown out by men, yet laws are not in place to prosecute them unlike developed countries.
“There are many more women who are bastardized and thrown out of there houses, we don’t have enough of laws that protect them, in developed countries you can’t do that we don’t have enough of such laws in Nigeria, we want them to speak out and report the cases”.
Meanwhile, Olawale explained that the summit is important has data has shown that men account for almost 90% of perpetrators of violence against women and they believe that it is important they begin frank conversation with the men and to see how there be behavioral change and to see that in 2022 that violence against women is no longer fashionable and acceptable and now there are laws that prosecute people who violate women in our society.
He opined that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act has not been totally implemented but in the last 5 years, there have been progress as some states has domesticated this act while others even have sexual offense register.
He added that men too face one form of violence or the other though the percentage is small but encouraged them to also speak out and share there pain.
“We are encouraging men also to share there pain though the data is low, violence against men are small, if we have 500 cases maybe a minute percentage is reported,
“Those small percentage also matter and this is also part of the patrichial society that we have, men are not allowed to share their pain and that’s what we are talking about but they also need to speak out when we are talking about violence against women and girls”.
Former Director General, The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dame Julie Donli on her part stated that victims of abuse in any form should not settled out of court and anyone that tells them to settle out of court should be arrested and prosecuted, no one should settle in case of rape, it is a criminal offense, they must be prosecuted.
She advised parents to train the male and female the same way, both should be treated equally, boys must be brought up to respect and regard women otherwise the parents are raising a potential wife batterer and a rapist.