Severe punishment awaits GBV perpetrators in Kwara — Official

The Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Amina El-Imam, has issued stern warning to perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the state, saying severe punishment awaits culprits.

She gave the warning at the close of an event for mobilising communities for the prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) organised by Stand To End Rape Initiative (STER), a non-governmental organisation, in Ilorin, the state capital, on Tuesday.

The commissioner, who reaffirmed that severe punishment awaits anyone who commits violence against women and girls in the state, described such an act as criminal and should be discouraged to promote fairness and equality among citizens.

She said Kwara State had always been at the forefront of advocating and preventing violence against women and girls, adding that “the menace of GBV is rampant and should be discouraged, and all hands must be on deck to checkmate the criminal act.”

According to her, there is a need to sensitise people on violence against women that such an act is prohibited and punishable under the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law.

Ms El-Imam advised survivors to report cases to appropriate authorities for justice to prevail.

She assured the NGO that the state government is ready to partner with relevant agencies to improve the wellbeing of kwara citizens.

The state’s Programme Manager for STER, Hussain Muhammed, explained that the objective of the programme is to create a grassroots coalition in communities for the prevention of VAWG.

According to him, the coalition includes faith-based, traditional leaders, youth, women leaders, health providers, first responders of SGBV, and other key community members identified during engagements with the communities.

Mr Muhammed also said that the programme aims to increase the capacity of grassroots coalition, while equipping them with knowledge and skills to become effective GBV advocates.

The programme manager urged stakeholders to continue to engage and empower local leaders and the coalition groups to take ownership of prevention efforts.

He advocated integration of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) awareness and prevention training into existing institutional frameworks, such as schools, healthcare facilities, and community centres.

He added that “this will help to maintain and build on the knowledge and skills developed during the project.

“There is a need to establish a robust monitoring and evaluation system to regularly assess the effectiveness of GBV prevention activities and make necessary adjustments, as this will help in tracking progress and identifying areas for improvement.

“There is also the need to explore diverse funding sources and private sector contributions to ensure that resources are available for ongoing and future prevention activities.”

(NAN)