New Telegraph

Ebonyi records 40 cases of rape in 8 months

Ebonyi State has recorded over 40 cases of rape cases within the first eight months of year. The state Chairperson, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Barr. Grace Chima stated this in Abakaliki, the state capital during the official launch of momentum country and global leadership project sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She noted that the suspects have all been arrested by the federation and prosecuted through the help of police and other security agencies in the state.

Chima lamented that cases of rape and other forms of genderbased violence have been on the increase in the state with more men becoming victims. “Gender-Based Violence is actually on the increase in our society. We have reordered severally cases of rape, spousal battery. Even men have become victims of spousal battery, but the truth of the matter is that when you talk of gender- based violence, children and women are always prominently mentioned. “So, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that genderbased violence is brought to an end.

I want to stand here to state authoritatively that the Violence against Persons Prohibition Law of the state has been a very good instrument in our hands to ensure that victims get justice. “When you go to conferences outside the state, you will be shocked that out of the 36 states of Nigeria, only about 11 states have domesticated VAPP law.

“This year, we in FIDA in collaboration with security agents have arrested over 40 cases of rape, we have the records and not just arresting them, we ensure that investigation is thoroughly done and we take them to court,” she said. In her address, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Deborah Chinwe Okah described gender based violence as the most pervasive and yet least visible human rights violations in the world. She noted that the act which takes numerous forms like intimate partner violence, sexual violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation, trafficking for sexual exploitation, female infanticide, and ‘honour ’crimes are common, with intimate partner violence occurring at staggering rates in every country.

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