People should explore legal frameworks to fight Gender-Based Violence —Oyo SGBVRT

Residents of Oyo State have been urged to use the instrumentality of law, legal frameworks and various opportunities that the state government has put in place to ensure that cases of Gender-Based Violence are properly reported, as such cases will be prosecuted accordingly by the Ministry of Justice, in order to get justice and free and proper medical care for victims while perpetrators will also get punished to serve as deterrent.

The Oyo State Sexual and Gender Based Violence Response Team (Oyo SGBVRT) made this call while highlighting the provisions of the state government to curb drastically, the rising incidents of violence across the state.

Speaking on behalf of the team, the coordinator, Modupe Awosemusi, stated that the Oyo State government is doing a lot to put an end to cases of gender-based violence in the state, adding that “we have a lot of legal frameworks on ground to curb and prosecute perpetrators, we have the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law, we have the Widowhood Practices Prosecution Law, Child Sexual Offences Law, the Child Rights Law, the Criminal Code and a lot of policies in Oyo State. The state government has done a lot in curbing incidence of gender-based violence. And one of such efforts is the establishment of Oyo SGBVRT which is domiciled in the ministry of justice.

“It is a multi-sectoral, one stop justice team established by the Oyo State government to respond to issues of gender-based violence in Oyo State, the Attorney General is the chairman while the Commissioner for Women Affairs is the vice chairman and there are representatives from various ministries and private organisations; ministries of justice, women affairs, health, education, information, legal aid council, National Human Rights Commission, NBA, FIDA, NGOs, police, civil defence and the media. We have about 22 stakeholders represented and the ministry of health is on the team to treat survivors free of charge most of the time while there are psychologists, counselors and lawyers to take up other aspects as well as law enforcement agents.

“We have a sexual assault referral centre in Oyo State which is domiciled at Jericho Nursing Home, it is also a one-stop justice centre where we have doctors, counsellors, legal representative and law enforcement agencies to give victims proper medical assessment free of charge, including drugs. There is nothing stopping citizens from exploring the opportunities that the Oyo State government has put in place to ensure that cases of GBV are properly reported and the cases will be prosecuted accordingly by the ministry of justice

“Also, we have toll-free lines and hotlines that anyone can call at anytime. Government has done a lot and the team has also done a lot and we are still doing it in collaboration with many agencies. We give alternative shelter for minors and adults so that those who want to get out of toxic and abusive environment can do it without stress as a resident of Oyo State,” she explained.

The team, however, stated that women and the society in general have a role to play in curbing violence. According to the team, “society has a role to play especially in terms of the issue of stignmatisation of victims, this should be eradicated and we should not blame survivors or tell them they caused the situation. Society should also collaborate with government in the sense that when anybody sees cases of gender violence, they will report to the appropriate authority and give survivor and family full support of the community to get justice. Society should ensure that community and religious leaders as well as influential people in the society have no place to hide when they are involved in dastard acts or allow them cover up perpetrators

“Also, women should develop themselves to have significant roles to play in the lives of their children and husbands; a woman that brings something to the table faces lesser threats. As a woman, you have a role to play in your personal development. Let us be friends with our children so that we can know what is going on with them and guide them in love,” it said.