UNFPA tasks state legislatures on domestication of anti-violence law

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has appealed to state houses of assembly to ensure speedy domestication of the Violence Against People Prohibition Act as part of efforts to address the problem of gender-based aggression in Nigeria.

The organisation’s Deputy Representative in the country, Dr. Eugene Kongnyuy, who made the appeal at the Nigeria IDP Diaspora Support Group (NIDPDSG) training on psychosocial trauma counseling yesterday in Abuja, pointed out that the global body was determined to end gender-related violence by 2030.

To achieve the target in Nigeria, Kongnyuy stated that the legislation needed to be domesticated as the legal component of the fight. He said: ‘’When there is crisis like it is in North East Nigeria, many people go through trauma in form of gender-based violence or physical and emotional trauma.

‘’Victims of crisis are most times traumatised and need mental health and psycho social services. We cannot achieve this if people are not trained and equipped with the capacity. This is an urgent issue that needs to be considered by the new lawmakers. It is an area to examine and they should consider adopting the Act as soon as possible in their various states.”

The UNFPA official explained that the training was supported by partners from the United Kingdom while the aim was to tenable Nigerians provide services to those suffering from psycho social trauma in the North East.He observed that the malaise poses serious threat to the health and economy of any nation “because if you have a population that is sick, productivity would be affected.”