Group seeks justice for victims of GBV

A non-governmental organisation, Leadership Initiative for Youth Empowerment (LIFE), has decried the prevalence of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the country, stating that 33 per cent of women between ages 15 and 49 have experienced physical or sexual violence.

The organisation, at a one-day community dialogue in Lagos, said the statistics were according to the National Demographic Health Survey carried out in 2018.

The dialogue session, themed: ‘Improving Access to Justice for Vulnerable Survivors of GBV in Lagos State’, was attended by Ireti Resource Centre, and Mirabel Centre, among others.

Programmes Officer for LIFE, Mokwe Oluwatoyin, said one out of three women in Nigeria have experienced GBV, 24 per cent of the number have experienced only physical violence, two per cent have experienced sexual violence while seven per cent have experienced both physical and sexual violence.

“According to a media outlet in 2023, Nigeria recorded 27,698 GBV cases in three years. This was in 2023, and these are reported cases. We want to believe that there are a lot of cases that we have, that are not even reported or documented. So, we can’t even say this is the exact number of cases,” she said.

LIFE’s Communications Officer, Muoghalu Bunmi, for her part, believes the government is doing its best to end GBV.

Bunmi identified psychological and emotional trauma as the challenges faced by victims.

“Either way, it could come back to emotional or psychological trauma. There is social stigma and isolation; stigmatisation from the community they live in, which can lead them to want to isolate themselves. There is also economic dependence; some of these people cannot leave their perpetrators because they are dependent on them,” she said.

A volunteer at Ireti Resource Centre, Akinsola Olamide, said: “As of May 21, 2024, we have had over 1,053 cases of GBV. Sexual-based violence, particularly sexual assault is frequent. If you need to seek justice, you can check any of the centres, we will file a case for you and it is totally free. We will pay for the arrest, counselling sessions and all.”