The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Gombe State Office, said it had received over 300 reported cases of domestic violence for 2018.
Mr Mohammed Abari, the Assistant Chief Investigative Officer of the commission made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Thursday.
Abari said that there was an increase in the rate at which people turned up to report cases of violence against women, adding that the statistics showed that every year, there was an increase in such cases.
“In 2018, we received about 300 reported cases of domestic violence which is against 254 of such cases recorded in 2017.
“Out of which, some have been treated, some ongoing and others referred to the appropriate authorities in line with their mandate.
“There is a tremendous increase in cases reported since the commission was set up in the state.
“In 2013, we recorded 25 cases reported and since then we had improvement in the number of reported cases.
“Sometimes in a day, we receive close to six cases and even on weekends. On the average out of 7 to 10 reported cases in a day, four to five are cases of violence against women,’’ he said.
Abari said that violence against women had received the needed attention, stressing that series of sensitisations had enlightened the people on where and how to go about such cases when they arose.
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According to him, the increase in the reportage of domestic violence is due to three factors which have been learnt from the interactions between NHRC officials and the abused.
“People are always afraid to report to the police for fear of having their marriages broken or their husbands beaten. They see the commission as more of a civil body.
“Also, the confidentiality with which we handle reported cases has been very helpful as people may not even know what is going on since the police or lawyers are not involved from the beginning.
“The last factor is that the commission through interactive approach appeal and sometimes compel the husbands to bring money and food items which are given to the women to care for their children periodically,’’ he said.
Abari said that cases of domestic violence had contributed to the increase in out-of-school children, adding that when such cases lead to divorce, most women were not capable of taking up the educational responsibility of their children.
He appealed to women to always speak up when they were being abused in their homes, saying that such women and their children would continue to be the victims until the abuse was reported.
NAN recalls that the Gombe Police Command had on Sept. 7, 2018, urged women in Gombe to always report cases of domestic violence to help to tackle the menace.
According to the command, between 2015 and 2017, it handled only 61 reported cases.
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