Wife of Gombe State Governor, Hajiya Asma’u Yahaya, who was represented by Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development; Asma’u Iganus, on Wednesday took advocacy to Kwami Local Government Area in a bid to combat gender-based violence urging community support.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that the visit to the LGA was part of activities used in commemorating 2024 16 days of activism.
With 2024 theme Unite! To end violence against women and girls.
Yahaya before the commencement of activities at the Secretariat paid a courtesy visit to the LGA chairman, Dr Ahmed Wali, where she decried the spate of GBV cases in the state.
She said, “Gombe has about 87.96 in the whole country. Gombe is in red.”
Yahaya called on he for she network to support the state in the fight against violence, noting that the visit to the LGA was geared towards incorporating community support in tackling GBV in the state.
“That is why we are going from local government to the other sensitising the people. This will help them to know how to report, what to report and what to expect when they report.
“The hospital fee is free and the police station charges are free and we have our lawyers that will take the case to court. We want them to have the needed courage. In Nigeria Gombe ranks highest in gender-based violence,” the governor’s wife added.
Responding, Kwami LGA boss, Wali described the statistics as sad, saying “It’s unfortunate that Gombe is in red. It’s a major issue that not only worry the state, nation, and United Nations that is why there is a commemoration.”
Wali continued saying “It’s worrisome that we are in red. Women in Kwami Local Government Area working tirelessly as a team to ensure we combat violence.Anytime we have an issue about molestation we usually treat it to ensure it’s curbed. Anything that affects a girl, affects a mother and nation. We are looking for to working with your.”
Also, the delegation was at the palace of the Senior District Head of Kwami, Alhaji Aminu Abdullahi, where they got assurances that traditional leaders would support in curbing GBV cases in his community.
In an interview with journalists, Focal Person at Specialist Hospital and Gender-Based Violence Desk Officer Ministry of Health, Bilikisu Aliyu, said no fewer than 130 survivors were treated from January to September, 2024.
Aliyu noted that based on statistics the cases are sexual and gender-related, adding that although violence cuts across all ages, however, 14 to 19 years are mostly affected.
Aliyu said, “Statistics usually vary, some weeks we have 10 cases in a month, sometimes we get 30 cases or more. In a year based on reports, we have almost 130 cases comprising physical and sexual. From January to September we have about 130 cases excluding October and we are still counting, the numbers are going high.”
The Focal Person who is a trained Nurse disclosed that stigmatisation is a major propeller of GBV, “Reporting is very important in curbing gender-based violence. For a case of rape go to the hospital without tampering with evidence without washing. We have collaboration with police and civil defence, if they (survivors) tamper with anything we won’t have forensic evidence that we need. The evidence is from first minute to 72 hours of the act,” she said.
She added that some survivors contracted viral diseases for not reporting promptly, “We get a lot of such cases where survivors of GBV contracted HIV, pregnancies, and other viral cases. We get rape case across all ages but the one ranking is 14 to 19 years,” he added.
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