The European Union (EU) said it committed the sum of 500 million Euros over a five-year period to address Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGVB) globally.
In his goodwill message EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, who said this at the Strategy and Knowledge Sharing Workshop on SGBV for First-Time First Ladies in Nigeria, added the money is part of the body’s commitment towards addressing SGVB.
She said, “Our two flagship SGBV programmes; the Spotlight Initiative and the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) Programme, have been quite instrumental in advancing this agenda. With a global envelope of 500 million Euros, the Spotlight Initiative is a clear demonstration of the EU’s commitment towards addressing SGBV. As the Spotlight Initiative comes to an end next month, a new SGBV programme is now in the pipeline, and we hope implementation can begin in 2024.
While appreciating the intentional effort being put into the SGVB fight in Nigeria, Isopi urged the First ladies to continue to drive the fight of reducing SGVB to its barest minimum.
Emphasising the importance of timely, coordinated response to the SVGB scourge, the Ambassador said it would require fundamental actions that guarantee the safety and security of vulnerable women and children not only in Nigeria but across the world.
“We urge the government to take ownership by allocating more funding and ensuring that the SGBV designated institutions have all they require to address the needs of the people. Sexual Assault Referral Centres and specialised SGBV courts are best practices, and as the new administration both and federal level begin to settle in their various roles, we need to set the SGBV agenda so that they begin to give this the much-needed focus that it deserves.
“We hope that this meeting serves to further prioritise SGBV intervention as well as raise public awareness on what we consider to be one of the most heinous crimes in our society. We also hope that this meeting will explore ways to continue raising a call to action that asks everyone to take concrete steps to question, call out, and speak up against acts of gender-based violence (GBV).
In her keynote remarks, UN Women Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Beatrice Eyong noted that increasing cases of violence against women has become a huge concern.
According to her, 1 in 3 women have experienced violence.
“Globally, an estimated 736 million women—almost one in three—have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence – 26% of women aged 15 and older have been subjected to intimate partner violence,” Eyong said.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, seeks to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment through addressing violence and all forms of discrimination against women and girls.
She said there was a need to change the approach to addressing SGVB in order to achieve results.
“It is critical for us to adopt a perpetrators-centred approach in holding people accountable for SGBV and survivor-centred approaches in reaching out to survivors of SGBV. I acknowledge that the NGWF has been especially instrumental in championing essential services. Excellencies, we call on your support to ensure that these services which are a lifeline for survivors and their communities remain invested in.
“These violations also impede on the dignity, sanctity of life and fairness that are at the core of the international and national legal frameworks to which Nigeria subscribes. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and harmful practices, in all their forms, violate the core principles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979, the Maputo Protocol, adopted by the African Union in 2003, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended) and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law signed into 2015 and already domesticated in your various states Excellencies with strong hope for Kano to join soon,” she added.
She urged the First Ladies to sustain advocacy on the Gender Equal and Opportunities Bill that not only addresses economic violence but also advocates for affirmative action and inclusion of women.
