The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in collaboration with the Adamawa Government, is working with security agencies to ensure justice for survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
The Fund’s Programme Officer, Dr Danladi Idrisa, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola Sunday.
He said: “UNFPA is assiduously working with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Justice, Judiciary and the security to ensure survivors of SGBV access justice.
“Before now, SGBV cases were helpless because the number of convictions were not commensurate with the number of prosecutions of cases.
“And in fact, the successful prosecution of cases are fewer in number and this is a big challenge and that is why we are training not only the prosecutors, but the investigators.”
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Idrisa said apart from that, the DNA Forensic Laboratory in Yola is to produce forensic evidence in ensuring justice for survivors.
He explained that UNFPA also supports the coordination of SGBV cases in delivering services and most of the SGBV centres were integrated to provide not only services but other related services like sexual reproductive health and others.
“We have One-Stop Centres where everything the survivors need are provided; we supported the centre in Mubi, Numan and that of the Women Development Centre, where women come to access services.
“We have over 10 Safe Space mini centres too, where women come in and access services not only regarding violence, but to improve on their skills that will help them to earn some money.
The UN has defined SGBV as any violence committed against a person because of his or her sex or gender, forcing another person to do something against his or her will through violence, coercion, threats, deception, cultural expectations, or economic means.
Some examples of SGBV are rape, physical assault, forced marriage, Female Genital Mutilation.
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