Kwara records over 200 cases of domestic violence in three months

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has decried what it described as alarming cases of domestic violence against women and children in Kwara state.

The commission, which said that violence against children and women are on the rise, added that it had recorded from January till date no fewer than 200 cases of battery and domestic violence in the state.

Speaking on the sideline of a programme organized by the Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication (CCEPE) in partnership with ActionAid Nigeria to commemorate this year International Women’s Day in Ilorin at the weekend, the state coordinator of NHRC, Jumoke Olaoye, said that the way out is continued sensitization among people.

“You see husbands beating their wives to a state of being admitted in hospitals. We see a lot of reports. As we speak from January to this day we have received close to 200 cases of domestic violence that we are tracking. The rate is alarming and we need to do something about it fast.

“The way out is to keep sensitizing and keep telling people to come and speak out when they are being molested or when their rights are being violated. So many people particularly the educated ones are not ready to come. Meanwhile, some of them are dying in silence. We have a commission that will fight for their right pro bono (free of charge).

“Apart from that, we have major stakeholders like the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and other non-governmental organizations that we are collaborating with. Even the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development is our major stakeholder and partner in seeing that women in the state live up to expectation so that domestic violence will be reduced to the barest minimum.

“The reports we get on rape cases are not as high as that of domestic violence. Rape cases for the minors are happening and we get reports and documents to back them up.”

Corroborating the NHRC coordinator on the theme of the programme: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in COVID-19 world”, the state’s Permanent Secretary Ministry, Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Hafsat Ibrahim, urged the girl-child to acquire skills and tactics to defend themselves when being attacked.

“Our girl children need to be trained on the skills and tactics of how to protect themselves because of sexual or gender-based violence that skyrocketed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have many cases of girls being raped reported at the ministry. We are not happy about these. We want parents to consider the safety of their children when they are not around. They need to ensure the girl children are always on good hands when the parents are not at home to curb the rate of incidences rampant currently in the society.

“The girl children should be trained in the tactics of Karate, Judo and the like. It is good for them. Let the rapists see the women in sports. This will enable the girls to defend themselves when they are being attacked.”

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer CCEPE Abdurrahman Ayuba, said that “women’s full and effective participation and leadership in all areas of life drive progress for everyone.”

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