According to Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, founding director of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, a deficit in political will, particularly at the national level, has rendered the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) less effective and potent than it should be.
Speaking on News Central’s no-holds-barred morning show, Jasiri, Akiyode-Afolabi stressed that the government failed to commit resources to implementing, coordinating, and ultimately achieving the law’s effectiveness.
“For example, after COVID, the government set up a committee in Abuja that is supposed to support awareness around the VAPP Act and its implementation, but we didn’t see much of that in reality.”
She also blamed the ineffectiveness of the legislation on the lack of multi-sectoral cooperation and cultural issues.
“There is a lack of cooperation, particularly from police, which often frustrates the attempt even to address the problem, and of course, there is long-standing community acquiescence to violence against women.
She decried the level of understanding that even some female lawmakers had about the issue, adding in some states, especially several states in the North, it was extremely difficult to have conversations around issues like female genital mutilation.
