The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ,NAPTIP, has called on traditional, community, and religious leaders to promptly report cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence ,SGBV, in their communities.
The call was made by NAPTIP Director-General, Prof Fatima Waziri-Azi, during a workshop in Abuja.
The workshop aimed to strengthen collaboration with traditional rulers, community, and religious leaders in the FCT to prevent violence against persons in their communities.
Waziri-Azi highlighted progress with the domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act in almost all states, emphasizing the need for continued collaboration to address SGBV at the community level.
The NAPTIP boss stated that almost all states in the country had made the VAPP Act a law, adding that 34 states had domesticated it, and that some states, such as Kano and Katsina, had incorporated various sections of the Act into their Penal Code laws.
“So this advocacy workshop is an opportunity for us to continue to strengthen our collaboration among ourselves, as well as to understand the various rules and levels of responsibility on us.
It is also to inform us about SGBV issues not only in the FCT but throughout Nigeria.
“We all need to know the role to play at the community level, religion leaders, law enforcement and even the judiciary as a society and as a country.
“We received a lot of cases of SGBV in the FCT for NAPTIP last year alone; one thing I know for sure is that the culture of silence has progressively reduced in the FCT, which is necessitated by the increase in trust-based reporting.
“In the past, people didn’t complain but now increase in reportage shows that attitude that needs not to be tolerated must not be tolerated.
“There have been instances where neighbors where neighbors blow the whistle on their neighbors; children send us Petitions, reporting their parents; even spouses report each other, and that is the change we have seen recently and continue to encourage.”
The workshop was part of activities commemorating the 2023 days of activism against SGBV.
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