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Women seek stiffer punishment for SGBV offenders

By Joy Baba-Yesufu, Abuja
20 August 2022   |   2:37 am
Women in Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have called for stiffer punishment for Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGVB) offenders in Nigeria.

Women in Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have called for stiffer punishment for Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGVB) offenders in Nigeria.

National President of the association, Faith Usoro, stated this in Abuja during a campaign/walk against all forms of domestic/SGBV to the Ministry of Women Affairs to condemn the recurring menace and deliberate on way forward.

She said the association was not comfortable with the current punishment meted out to offenders, calling for castration as a way to deter intending perpetrators.

“This is a clarion call we are making to the Federal Government to ensure that there are no more domestic and all forms of abuses. We are here to let the offenders know that there are eyes on them.

“By the time you remove organs of two men, you will see people running away from it, castrate them. The law doesn’t approve of it but when you take drastic action like this, intending perpetrators will run away from such acts,” she said.

Usoro also urged women to desist from any act that pushes their spouses to hit them, saying they must be patient with their spouses as husbands go through a lot of pressure to provide for the family.

“Learn to be your husband’s friend; go out of your way to understand every one of his actions. Pamper him, mothers are born to pamper their men, they are our babies,” she added.

Responding, the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, said domestic and SGBV was a violation of human rights, which could impact negatively on anyone especially women and girls, adding that intimate partner abuse was also on the increase in Nigeria.

The minister, who was represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Idris Mohammed, said statistics have shown that one out of every three women and girls between the age of 15 and 49 has been a victim of violence while one in every five has experienced physical violence in Nigeria.

Tallen further stated that as a way to nab perpetrators faster, the ministry has launched a toll-free line to report cases of abuse, saying that with the support of relevant stakeholders, domestic and SGBV could be brought to its barest minimum in Nigeria.

National vice president of PENGASSAN, Comrade Owan Abua, appealed to Nigerians to lend their voices to the issue.

This was even as the chairperson of the Lagos State chapter of the association, Comrade Nikki Duru, said the violence was not reducing because women were enabling it, noting that mothers encourage their daughters to remain in abusive marriages as a way to protect their family name.

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