Niger Government says it will establish Sexual Assault Referral Centres in the 25 local government areas of the state to deal with cases of gender-based violence (GBV).
Chairperson of the state GBV Advocacy Committee, Hajiya Mairo Man, said this on Friday at a sensitisation, held at Paiko General Market in Paiko Local Government Area.
Man said that Wife of the state governor, Dr Amina Bello, who is the Chairperson of the state GBV Management Committee, had given approval for the establishment of the centres.
According to her, the centres will avail the victims the opportunity of reporting GBV cases.
Man urged women to play their roles in preventing GBV by reporting such cases to the appropriate authority.
“GBV is not only about rape, men beating their wives or women maltreating their husbands, but it is about denying children of education and forcing them into early marriage,’’ she said.
In her remarks, Wife of Paiko Council Chairman, Mrs Teni Yohanna, expressed appreciation to the committee for educating women and men on GBV, adding that the campaign would complement the council’s efforts at reducing the menace.
“We have been sensitising our people to bring up their children in the fear of God and teach them good morals in order to reduce abuses,’’ Yohanna said.
Also, the District Head of Paiko, Alhaji Baba Mustapha, said that perpetrators of GBV should be dealt with appropriately, to serve as deterrent to others.
Mustapha pledged to support the committee in taking the campaign to other members of the community.
Jummai Makama, who spoke on behalf of the women, said that with the sensitisation, they were now more enlightened and encouraged to speak out against gender-based violence.
