LANW seeks Media collaboration in the fight against SGBV in Kaduna
LANW seeks Media collaboration in the fight against SGBV in Kaduna
By: Femi Mustapha
Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW) has urged the media to partner with the organization to fight the menace of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Kaduna State.
The Acting Executive Director of LANW, Mrs. Hannatu Ahuwan, asserted this during the sensitization session with media practitioners and journalists on the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law (VAPPL) and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) implementation in Kaduna state.
Mrs. Ahuwan encouraged the media practitioners to do a scan assessment of what had happened in the past, the gaps and challenges encountered while conceptualizing an intervention in SGBV in the state.
She explained that the SGBV Justice Network (SJN) Cluster is implementing a project with Palladium’s Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) sponsored by USAID to consolidate already existing partnerships to deepen ongoing advocacy efforts for a more efficient implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law (VAPPL) and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) in Bauchi, Benue, Enugu, Kaduna, and Osun towards speedy justice service delivery and resolution of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases. Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW) is the Cluster member implementing the SJN project in Kaduna State.
Mrs. Ahuwan tasked journalists with taking responsibility for their roles in terms of prevention, response, creating awareness, and providing helplines for survivors of SGBV in society, saying it is time to expose all forms of domestic violence against women.
She pleaded with the journalists to intensify efforts toward eradicating rape and gender-based violence, especially as data shows that the number of victims from this menace had increased.
“The engagement is aimed at encouraging more reportage, sensitization, and advocacies on policy reforms and implementation that would eliminate SGBV.
This is also a time to seek partnership with you, and it is necessitated due to the increasing cases of SGBV, child early and forced marriage, trafficking in persons, and so many other forms of violence in society.
“These cases are increasing because of the spate of insecurity and poverty, which has increased the rate of abuse.”
Mrs. Ahuwan said the objective of the training is to sensitize and create awareness among journalists and media practitioners on the efficient implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice & Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Laws across the project states through a sensitization session.
“To engender dialogue among journalists and media practitioners and leverage their networks and agency to amplify SJN advocacy asks towards eliciting actions from relevant stakeholders on its policy objectives,” she said.
