35% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence-FIDA

The chairperson of International Federation of Women Lawyers, (FIDA) Abuja chapter, Rachael Adejoh has said that a UN Women report shows that 35 percent of women world wide have experienced physical and or sexual violence in their life time adding that about 11 percent of Nigerian women have experienced such violence in the last 12 months.
Adejo made this known while addressing journalists as part of activities to mark this year’s 16 days activism on the elimination of all forms of Gender Based Violence with the theme “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stand Against Rape” in Abuja.
She said that rape remains a form of violence that has become normalized as a result of patriarchy which remains the most practiced societal system in the world saying that cases of rape, defilement and violence go unreported for reasons such as the culture of silence, the stigmatization of survivors, the fear of intimidation and so on.
Adejo expressed surprised at the thought of some Nigerian men who consider women as objects that can be handled with levity while others justify rape as a result of women’s dressing.
“FIDA strongly commends and celebrates states like Lagos, Edo, Oyo, Anambra, Cross River, Ekiti, Enugu, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Adamawa, and Benue which have so far enacted the equivalent of the Violence Against Persons Prohibitions (VAPP) Act while calling on the remaining states of the federation to proceed with dispatch to adopt and implement the VAPP Act 2015.
“The VAPP Act 2015 is a landmark legislation on the prohibition of all forms of violence against persons especially the marginalised in Nigeria. It is a great improvement on the Criminal and Penal Codes which are operational in the Southern and Northern Nigeria,” she said.
The Abuja chairperson of FIDA further said the organisation demands from the Federal Government among others; to put in place necessary and appropriate mechanism, facilities and processes to ensure safe spaces for victims and survivors.
She said that quick and proactive steps must be taken to reform our criminal justice system to ensure speedy investigation and prosecution of offenders, adding that the different states of the Federation must fast track processes to adopt and implement the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA 2015) to ensure speedy dispensation of criminal trials.
“FIDA calls on all to realise, appreciate and celebrate the role of female gender in our society. Rape is rooted in a complex set of patriarchal beliefs, power and control, this must stop,” she added.

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