By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
The Kwara Government, on Tuesday in Ilorin has reaffirmed that severe punishment awaits anyone who commits violence against women and girls in the State.
The Kwara Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam gave the warning, while speaking at the Close-Out of event for Mobilizing Communities for the prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), organized by Stand To End Rape Initiative (STER) in Kwara.
She described violence against women as a criminal act which should be discouraged to promote fairness and equality among citizens in the State.
The Commissioner stated that Kwara has always been at the forefront of advocating and preventing violence against women and girls.
“The menace of gender based violence is rampant and should be discouraged, all hands must be on deck to checkmate the criminal act,” she said.
According to her, there is need to sensitize people on violence against women, that such act is prohibited and punishable under the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law.
El-Imam advised victims to report the issues accordingly for justice to prevail.
She therefore assured the team that state government is ready to partner with any relevant agencies that will improve and promote well being of kwara citizens.
Also speaking, the state Programme Manager for STER, Mr. Hussain Muhammed, explained that the objective of the programme, is to create a grassroot coalition in the communities for the prevention of VAWG.
According to him, these coalition includes faith based, traditional leaders, youth, women leaders, health providers, first responders of SGBV, and other key community members identified during engagements with the communities.
Muhammed also said that the programme aims to increase the capacity of the grassroot coalition, while equipping them with knowledge and skills to become effective SGBV advocates and champion the cause for the prevention of VAWG in their communities.
The Programme Manager recommended all stakeholders in Kwara to continue to engage and empower local leaders and the coalition groups to take ownership of SGBV prevention efforts.
He advocated integration of Sexual Gender Base Violence (SGBV) awareness and prevention training into existing institutional frameworks, such as schools, healthcare facilities, and community centers.
“This will help maintain and build on the knowledge and skills developed during the project
“There is need to establish a robust monitoring and evaluation system to regularly assess the effectiveness of SGBV prevention activities and make necessary adjustments as this will help in tracking progress and identifying areas for improvement.
“There is also need to explore diverse funding sources and private sector contributions, to ensure that resources are available for ongoing and future SGBV prevention activities,” he said.