On the International Day to End Violence Against Women, UNODC sat down with Yewande Gbola-Awopetu, Head of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Response Unit at the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice, to talk about its work in providing survivors and victims of SGBV with access to justice and the challenges that lie ahead in closing the accountability gap in Nigeria.
UNODC: It is a privilege to have the opportunity to sit down with you on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Please can you tell us more about the work of the SGBV Response Unit in the Federal Ministry of Justice?
During the pandemic, there was a national call to action for government ministries to look into gender-based violence. There was a perception amongst the population that there was no accountability for perpetrators. In response, in 2021, the former President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, asked the Federal Ministry of Justice to take the lead in coordinating governmental actions to tackle SGBV.
I wrote the inception memo for the SGBV Response Unit and I currently head it. Our mandate principally concerns access to justice, in that our Unit provides legal services for survivors. In our work, we follow the mantra of “leave no one behind” and use a survivor-centered approach: we tailor every service we provide to the survivor, and we move at their pace and expectation. We are not Father Christmas, we cannot promise everything, but we are capable of educating the survivor on the resources available. Whenever services are provided, they are tailored to the survivor’s wishes, whether the solutions are within the criminal justice system or not. When we know that what they ask is out of our purview, we refer them.
We also do capacity-building for prosecutors, judges, and provide community sensitization. While certain actors, like those in the health sector, have had training and possess skills in dealing with cases of SGBV, actors from the criminal justice system have been left behind. We are therefore trying to play catch up and facilitate capacity-building so responses are sensitive and victim-centered.
UNODC: The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is observed every year to acknowledge the pervasiveness of violence against women and girls, as well as the strides achieved to improve legislation and the effective prosecution of perpetrators. From your experience, what do you believe are the most significant achievements made in recent years to promote the sound investigation and prosecution of SGBV cases in Nigeria?
Recently, one of the key achievements within the criminal justice system was the formation of Gender Units within Police Commissions. Additionally, there are now training and curricula designed to raise awareness of gender-based violence for the police force, criminal justice actors and traditional rulers. These outcomes are very important to bring about changes in attitudes. Another big success was the establishment of standard operating procedures for the prosecution of school-related gender-based violence.
We are still a far cry from where we should be, however, the federal government, especially under the current president, has shown a drive to change the status quo and now recognizes that SGBV-related offenses are the ones committed most often against women and children. Previously, SGBV was treated as comparable to robbery or kidnapping, whereas now it is gaining a special status within our legal system.
Since our inception two years ago, we have been able to achieve considerable advances in promoting accountability for SGBV - those successes have been facilitated by the federal government’s active involvement in and support for our work.
UNODC: Looking ahead, what do you consider should be the priority areas of focus to renew commitments to end violence against women and girls?
I expect to see our politicians understand that they have a collective responsibility and build a victim support fund that truly works. Today, our political class tends to feel that SGBV should be relegated to women’s issues. They feel that, by engaging with other thematic areas, such as terrorism or banditry, they may gain more prominence. Therefore, we need to build a national consciousness around SGBV.
Currently, entities that cover SGBV in the criminal justice system receive very little funding when compared to other serious crimes, such as terrorism or kidnapping. There is a constant struggle to obtain dedicated funding. For example, we are still advocating for gender-responsive budgeting for ministries that deal with the different aspects of gender-based violence. Likewise, most Gender Units in Police Commissions are also underfunded and most often do not even have a dedicated vehicle to allow officers to attend crime scenes.
Connected to that, the establishment of specialized courts and the provision of equipment to fight against SGBV needs to become a priority. Today, it takes 6 months from the start of an investigation to a case being charged. The only way this gap can be bridged is by strengthening inter-agency collaboration and constructing dedicated facilities to enable specialized investigators and prosecutors to work together, and where necessary, provide access to equipment such as clinics and DNA laboratories. I am sure that this approach would enable us to reduce the amount of time needed for an offense to be charged.
Regarding terrorism-related SGBV, it is key not to underestimate the lifelong trauma victims carry with them, as they had their choices taken away from them. They often return to their communities and experience intense stigmatization. However, current national assistance plans and support lack a framework to provide psychosocial support, which victims and survivors of SGBV gravely need. This extends to the children born from this abuse, as they are at greater risk of falling into a cycle of marginalization or radicalization. The construction of shelters for women and their children who are unable to return to their communities due to stigmatization, where victims could receive assistance to build livelihoods and receive psychosocial assistance, for example, could be an effective response to survivors’ distress. In short, the solutions lie in enabling trauma-informed action and programming.
UNODC: There is a bill that is currently being drafted to repeal and replace the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act. The new bill is meant to include specific language on SGBV. What do you believe differentiates this new bill from other legal frameworks concerning SGBV and what are your hopes for this new framework?
Currently, the only legal frameworks existing relating to SGBV are those under the umbrella of mental abuse or physical abuse - they are not specific to sexual abuse. The new VAPP bill will bridge that gap. I think that these changes will bring hope to women.
This new act not only codifies and criminalizes SGBV, but also economic abuse, psychological abuse, and emotional abuse, which were not considered offenses previously at the federal level. With this new law, women will feel seen and heard, as it demonstrates that the Federal Ministry of Justice is responsive to the cause of women and emphasizes their plight, considering women and children are a major driver of our national development.
Nigerian women will now have a law that understands the challenges and inequalities that they face in various aspects of life and demonstrates that the system will not tolerate any form of abuse.
