SGBV: NGO Blames Incidence on Citizens' Poor Knowledge of Extant Laws.

High rate of gender based violence in Ebonyi State has been blamed on citizens' low awareness about the availability and content of the Ebonyi Violence Against Persons Prohibition, (VAPP) law.

A Nongovernmental organisation, Women Rights and Health Project, WRAHP, made the observation on Tuesday in a workshop for community representatives in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.

The workshop, Enhancing Gender Equality and Protection from Gender based Violence in Ebonyi State was organized by WRAHP with support from Open Society Initiative for West Africa, OSIWA. It was part of the Organization's 12-Month training project on gender inequality aimed at addressing gender based violence especially against women and girls.

Speaking during the event, the WRAHP State Coordinator and one of the facilitators of the training, Barr. Charles Ndubuisi Iroh, noted that available records revealed that Afikpo North and Abakaliki were among the local government areas with highest incidences of sexual and gender based violence.

He lamented the lack of knowledge about, and non utilization of the VAPP law in the State to prosecute offenders, adding that sexual and gender based violence against women and girls were rooted in partriarcchy and other cultural issues which sees women as second class citizens.

Iroh explained: "In a mapping carried out in October, 2020, to determine prevalence of SGBV in Ebonyi State, we discovered with data and facts on ground that Afikpo North and Abakaliki LGAs have the highest incidences of SGBV.

"The reasons are not far fetched. They are rooted in partriarcchy, where the man feels that the women is a second class citizen.

"Also there are cultural practices that relegate women to the background.

"Before we came here, the Ebonyi State VAPP law 2018, was already four years old.

"But the question is: how many people are aware of this law?

"You go to places and you find out that many of them, including the Police and some relevant government agencies who should adapt these laws especially in the prosecution of offenders would rather refer to the criminal code.

"There is low reportage of these laws as well as low reportage of gender based violence.

"People believe so much in the mainstream law which is the criminal code.

"That is why there is little or no information on the VAPP Law."

He called for concerted advocacy and sensitization about the existence of the law to the rural and hard-to-reach areas across the State.

He further called on appropriate agencies to put the law in actual performance in punishing ofenders, adding that in so doing, the law can generally be seen as of real essence.

Earlier, the Program Officer, Dr. Serah Chima, representing the Executive Director, Mrs Bose Ironsi, explained that the refresher workshop was motivated by the high rate of gender based violence and gender inequality identified in some parts of the State.

Ironsi noted that the program was meant to provide solutions and secure justice for victims of GBV, and expose participants to available legal instruments to addressing the menace

"Based on that, we invited representatives from various communities in order to train them, build their capacities to be able to identify gender based violence cases, and be able to take necessary actions" Ironsi added.

Some of the participants who spoke to our correspondent, including Emmanuel Amara and Catherine Okechukwu from Abakaliki and Afikpo North respectively, pledged to effectively utilize the knowledge to achieve desired goals.

While appreciating WRAHP for the event, which they noted was a follow-up of previous trainings, they stated that the workshop has exposed them to facts and practical knowledge on way to end SGBV in their localities.

Participants drawn from the two focal LGAs were expected to step the knowledge down to the grassroots.

"I have personally decided to volunteer inorder to help ensure that these violence and abuses are checked.

"This is actually a second training in this series; a refresher training.

After the first training, we had carried campaigns to Schools, Churches, other community groups on the need to speak out against SGBV.

"Now, after this refresher course, we will be more equiped, and we are going to redouble our efforts to reach as many people and groups as possible with the message of ending GBV" Amara summed.

Participants were exposed to the various kinds of Violence and abuse; legal provisions and punishment for offenders, institutions and processes for seeking redress, among others.

They later developed group work plans for driving the project.