****say Kogi records 2,203 cases so far in 2023
***Stakeholders call for budgetary provision for Costed Multi-sectoral Action Plan
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
Stakeholders on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Kogi state have called on the State Government to make budgetary provision fot the GBV Costed Multi-sectoral Action Plans to mitigate violence against women and girls in Kogi and around the world.
The Stakeholders made the call during a stakeholders’ meeting/ Press Conference organized by Centre for Integrated Health Programmes, (CIHP) in collaboration with the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Lokoja.
The meeting was part of efforts to mark Orange the World 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence Campaign in Kogi State running between 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) and 10th December (International Human Rights Day).
The Stakeholders at the meeting observed that Kogi state has continued to witness rise in cases of gender-based violence.
According to them, the National Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Data Situation Room and dashboard for prevention and response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Nigeria has reported a total of 2,203 cases in Kogi so far in 2023.
Speaking at the occasion, Hajia Fatima Kabir Buba, Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Kogi State, said “Every year, the UNiTE Campaign focuses on a specific theme and this year’s theme is “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls.
The Commissioner held that GBV and harmful practices were rooted in power imbalances between the sexes and fueled by multiple factors including social and cultural norms, social acceptance of harmful practices, and insufficient legal protections.
“The Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2018 found that nine per cent of women aged 15 to 49 had suffered sexual assault at least once in their lifetime and 31 per cent had experienced physical violence”, she said.
Buba held that the state Government in the bid to mitigate the increasing incidences of GBV in the State had inaugurated a 23-member Technical Working Group to tackle the menace in the state with the cardinal object of ensuring that gender equality is upheld in all spheres of human life.
Eunice Abimbola Agbogun, Executive Director, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), in her presentation, urged that priority attention must be given to costed multi-sectoral action plan which she described as a multi-year road map.
Agbogun, the main brain behind the adoption of Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act in Kogi state said that the concept was designed design to justify resource mobilization and leverage of financial and technical resources from stakeholders.
“Costed action plans provide guidance on which activities to give priority to, expand and support in a bid to put an end to all forms of Gender Based Violence in Kogi State and Nigeria in general”, she stressed.
Amb. Idris Ozovehe Muraina, Chairperson, Kogi Non-Governmental Organizations Network (KONGONET), urged Kogi State Government to capture the Multi-sectoral costed action plans in the 2024 budget to enable effective implementation of the VAPP Law.
“Kogi State must adopt in totality, the costed multi-sectoral action plan on GVB intervention. This summarily means that every Ministry, Department and Agency in Kogi State will swing in issues of GBV in their annual budget and ensure it is captured”, he said.
Muraina said it was therefore imperative for Civil Society Organizations to monitor and track implementation of every facet of the Costed Multi-sectorial Action Plan on GBV at MDAs level.
Speaking at the meeting earlier, Kalu Samuel Uko, the Gender Mainstreaming Associate at CIHP said Gender Based Violence remains a societal nightmare that must be stopped, stressing that, all hands must be on deck to address this menace.
According to him, CIHP has continued to put measures in place to ensure that States tap into their agenda to kick against all forms of Gender Based Violence across the Country.
Highlight of the occasion was the pledge by various stakeholders including the non state bodies like the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Security agencies including the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Media among others. (Ends)