The Nigerian government is set to introduce mobile courts for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases. The Federal Government through its Ministry of Women Affairs made the disclosure in its bid to curb the SGBV menace nationwide.
This was made known by the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, who made the statement on Monday at a briefing in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory.
She said, “If we have a mobile court, it will help as we go for our advocacy against SGBV. We have been advocating, and spending money, to no avail.”
The statement was made as the minister explained the goals she hopes to achieve during her first 100 days in the Women Affairs office.
Kennedy-Ohaneye explained that “When victims report, police will come in for arrest, we will take the victim straight to the hospital to confirm and then the mobile courts come in to ensure justice is served.”
According to the Ministry of Women Affairs, available statistics had revealed that 30 percent girls and women aged between 15 and 49 had been reported to have experienced sexual abuse, a prevalent form of SGBV in Nigeria
She emphasised the relevance of different strategies to target and strengthen women at the grassroot level and the need to work with women cooperatives towards the implementation of empowerment projects with sustainability beyond the initial support received from the government .
As at January 16, a total of 11,918 SGBV cases were recorded, with 419 fatal cases and 609 closed cases.
The minister said, “The narrative has changed in this ministry. We have decided to forge ahead with more sustainable moves that will impact our women and children.
“Sanitary towels being given to girls in some schools from time to time is not sustainable; therefore, we have decided that instead of giving them the sanitary towels, we set up sanitary pad production ventures. Sharing gas cylinders to rural women is also not sustainable; the ministry is concerned about who refills the gas stove for the rural woman after the first refill. We have decided to, instead, give them charcoal burners and biogas stoves among others.”
On the sidelines of the briefing, Kennedy-Ohanenye re-affirmed the position of the federal government as touching justice for any case of SGBV across the country.