In the course to achieve gender equality with regard to equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities that are special to women, women have encountered a variety of obstacles and challenges. The United Nations states that numerous barriers in law and culture still exist today, hence no country can claim to have achieved gender equality. Serious threats still exist that pull back the hard-won gains of feminism.
As the world observes International Women’s Day this year, therefore, it is critical to step up efforts to honor and recognize contributions made by women in politics, business, the media, education, and indeed every facet of life. Their contributions to the advancement of women’s rights, in order to create collective and realistic action plans for preventing retrogression, can’t be overlooked especially when viewed through the lens of collective activity at the community level.
The fact that collective action serves as a benchmark for assessing community development and growth is no longer news. This is supported by the growing encouragement given by foreign bodies to voluntary organizations and civil society to form coalitions, networks, and clusters with the goal of having a collective impact on their immediate communities.
As a large proportion of Nigeria’s population commemorates the 2023 International Women’s Day in solidarity with women’s efforts to advance women’s rights, it will be historic to exhibit the success story of Lawyers Alert along 7 other organizations under the cluster “SGBV Justice Network in its fight to end SGBV in Nigeria.
Lawyers Alert is a Human Rights organization whose vision is to see a world where women and vulnerable groups are free from injustice.
The SGBV Justice Network led by Lawyers Alert in partnership with SCALE Palladium supported by the USAID is implementing a project, “Advocating for Effective Implementation/Activation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) & Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of Bauchi, Benue, Enugu, Kaduna, Osun, and the FCT. This project which was conceived, birthed and supported by USAID as a result of the spike in SGBV reportage in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic in project locations, is to expedite justice service delivery for SGBV survivors and victims and the resolution of same.
It is, unfortunately, the case that victims, usually poor and vulnerable women, and girls, are unable to get justice owing to the slow process of the system, while abusers are let loose at the expense of their victims There are extant laws that could redress this anomaly if adequately applied.
The VAPP & ACJ Laws are complementary statutes that exist to provide redress for survivors and victims of SGBV who are the most vulnerable and indigent women and girls. Both laws also exist to expedite the process of justice which is clogged by excessive delays and the high cost of legal representation, making litigation ineffective. Cases of SGBV reported to authorities would take an average of 3 – 8 years for decisions, with the potential of perpetrators becoming role models since they seemed to have the power to evade justice. Such cases run the risk of being dismissed owing to the length of time, lack of witnesses, and loss of interest.
The SJN Cluster in implementing the above-titled advocacy project in Bauchi, Benue, Enugu, Kaduna, Osun, and the FCT had specific advocacy asks from the various relevant stakeholders. These include the expansion of Senior Magistrates jurisdiction to try rape cases; the setting up of VAPPL Implementation Committee; setting up of special/family courts to expedite SGBV cases; and the establishment of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs). With these, the SJN Cluster members in the project locations made some remarkable achievements in pushing for the effective activation/implementation of both laws. This is towards advancing access to justice for SGBV survivors and victims in the delivery of prompt justice and services.
In Bauchi, Benue, Kaduna, and Osun States, the SJN Cluster members ensured that they advocated for and had at least one or more of their advocacy asks achieved. The Bauchi State cluster ensured that the Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) & Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) (VAPP) Laws were amended and passed by the Bauchi State House of Assembly on August 25 and 30, 2022 respectively. The review of the ACJ Law encompassed the expansion of senior magistrates’ jurisdiction to try rape cases. Amazingly, the State Governor assented into law the VAPP & ACJ Laws on December 9, 2022, as a result of which over 40 SGBV cases have already been arraigned in Court.
Consequent upon the State Governor’s assent of both laws, the Bauchi State Government constituted a Committee of the Drafting of Practice Direction on the VAPP & ACJ Laws in the State, where the Hon. Chief Judge of Bauchi State appointed the SJN Cluster member, Hon. Magistrate Amina Garuba Ahmed as Secretary to the above Committee. Additionally, the SJN Cluster member was made the secretariat of the review committee during the review of laws.
On February 14, 2023, the Bauchi State Government then launched the gazetted VAPP & ACJ Laws where it produced copies of the laws to be disseminated to relevant institutions and agencies. The unintended ripple effect of the SJN Cluster’s engagement in was that the Bauchi Penal Code, which dates back to 1960 was equally amended, passed and assented to the law just like the VAPP & ACJ Laws at the same instance.
In Benue and Osun States, SJN Cluster members had a series of advocacy visits to various stakeholders that contributed to the swift commissioning of the Sexual Assault Referral Centres respectively. The Osun SJN Cluster member was made a member of the Osun VAPP Law Implementation Committee on November 22, 2022, during the commissioning of the SARC as a result of her contributory efforts. The Governor of Benue State, on the other hand, commissioned the State SARC on January 31, 2023. The law is aimed at providing SGBV survivors counseling, medical treatment, psychosocial support, legal services, and economic empowerment. As a result of the Benue SJN Cluster member’s previous advocacy engagements with the Benue State Chief Judge, the State established and inaugurated the ACJ Law Monitoring Committee, of which Lawyers Alert is a member.
In Kaduna State, the SJN Cluster’s collaborative efforts with the Kaduna State SGBV Coalition were able to push for and secure the establishment of three family courts designated to handle SGBV cases to ensure speedy resolution of cases. The State similarly launched its Sex Offenders Database aimed at naming and shaming with a view to dissuading others from such crimes.
Several other complementary activities (launch of campaign hashtags/rallies, capacity strengthening, etc) were conducted in project locations to improve knowledge for the justice sector actors and the public on the VAPP & ACJ Laws and SGBV issues. SJN Cluster members in Bauchi, Enugu, and Osun had copies of the VAPP Law produced and disseminated to some of the justice sector actors and service providers to improve their information base and take cognizance of roles specific to SGBV.
Without justice sector actors and other service providers recognizing their roles in relation to SGBV, recognizing the importance of interdependence and inter-relationship of ministries, departments, and agencies, and making deliberate efforts to cooperate and utilize one another’s skill sets, efforts to end SGBV in Nigeria would be far more challenging.
The success of the SJN Cluster is attributed to the instrumentality of SCALE Palladium with the support of USAID. The generosity of SCALE Palladium in providing Cluster members with opportunities to strengthen their capacities for diversified civic advocacy and local engagement has had a significant positive impact on the organization of SJN Cluster members, especially in terms of compliance with relevant regulatory agencies and improved organizational structures. With these lessons learned, SJN Cluster members are now intentional about the issue of GESI (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion) in programming activities and projects among other things.
The SJN Cluster is truly appreciative not just for the support but the deliberate encouragement and improvement of organizations’ potential for collective impact.
Lawyers Alert congratulates all women and all the He4She on this International Women’s Day as we contribute our quotas to advance women’s rights in Nigeria.
#IWD2023 #ImplementSGBVLaws #Justice4SGBVSurvivors.
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