Assistant Chief Legal Officer, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mrs Hembafan Jande-Tingir, has called for collaboration among stakeholders in the fight against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

Jande-Tingir made the call at a stakeholders’ meeting on access to justice for SGBV survivors organised by the SGBV Justice Network, yesterday, in Makurdi.

It is a global issue, therefore, there is a need for agencies saddled with the responsibility of eradicating SGBV to collaborate in tackling the menace head on, she asserted.

Benue State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Ann Itodo, assured that her ministry would continue to support the fight until all issues of SGBV were eradicated.

Her counterpart in the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, Fidelis Mnyim, assured that his ministry would not rest until all survivors of SGBV get justice.

President, National League of Women Voters (NILOWV), Mrs Irene Awunah-Ikyegh, in her address at the occasion, made a case for a budget line by government at all levels for the running of Sexual Assault Referral Centres.

She explained that the objective of the meeting was to engender discussions on local issues that constitute stumbling blocks to justice on SGBV and other human rights violations, as well as to develop community-driven solutions that would guide citizens and give SGBV survivors and victims unfettered access to justice.

Awunah-Ikyegh explained that another objective was to sensitise participants on the rights of abused persons and available mechanisms for redress in the courts.

Chairman, Benue Non-Governmental Network (BENGONET), Lazarus Mom, lauded the speakers for their quality contributions to the discourse, but lamented that most survivors of SGBV were the vulnerable group, who do not know how to go about getting justice.