NEWS:With the support of these Donors and Partners, Adamawa state is willing to declare a state of emergency on Gender Based Violence -BSD Sanga.

 

By Catherine Philip Jelani

The HAG & Commissioner for Justice, BSD Sanga, attended a conference on Gender Based Violence (GBV), organised by the UNFPA and undertook that if development partners provided requisite support, the Government of Adamawa State will declare a state of emergency on GBV.

The Conference was tagged a Call to Action on Protection against Gender Based Violence, and held in Maiduguri from the 5th – 6th of December 2018. It covered a review of the progress made and challenges encountered in 2018, by stakeholders in combating GBV.

In his opening remarks, BSD Sanga informed the meeting that in response to the scourge and rising trend of reported cases of Rape, the Adamawa State Government established a Sexual Assault Referral Center which was named “the Hope Center” and a Special Rights Agency through a legal notice. He also informed the conference that the State has also enacted laws and policies such as an improved Penal Code and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law to take care of restorative Justice.

HAG also informed the conference that the State was working on the establishment of Multi Door Court Houses, with jurisdiction covering criminal matters and that GBV cases could therefore be referred to the Multi Door Court Houses, when they become operational.








Given the strides made by the State, the HAG invited Donor partners and Development Agencies to support the State Government in the establishment of the Multi Door Court Houses and a Forensic Laboratory. He explained that a Forensic Unit was integral to the success of minimising GBV, as it will provide evidence of perpetration of the crime of rape or assault. In this context, he noted that the forensic laboratory will ensure that evidential gaps are closed and perpetrators of GBV are brought to book to deter other potential perpetrators.


The HAG explained that within 8 months of the establishment of the Sexual Assault Referral Centre, it had handled over 70 cases, noting that all these cases were reports from just two out of the twenty-one Local Governments in the State. He further explained that only 9 case diaries had been received for prosecution, largely as a result of tardy investigation and a culture of silence, factors which would be surmounted if the State had a Forensic Laboratory.



Left HAG & Commissioner for Justice, BSD Sanga.
The Conference was attended by relevant key stakeholders, International NGOs, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNWOMEN NESCOB, DHC, ECHO +CANADA, FMWASD, FIDA ,Adamawa State, Borno State and Yobe States.