SGBV: Former DG NAPTIP Tasks Investigators On Diligence, Evidence Collection

As the country intensifies onslaught against sexual and gender-based violence, SGBV a former Director General of National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP Dame Julie Okah-Donli has urged investigators to exercise more diligence in collection of evidence to aid in the prosecution of perpetrators of sexual-related and gender-based crimes.

According to Okah-Donli, intending culprits will not be deterred unless there is commensurate punishment against perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violent crimes which she said can only be achieved through diligent investigation and prosecution.

Speaking on Saturday in Abuja while featuring as September celebrity guest author of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA FCT chapter, the NAPTIP ex-DG called for a thorough investigation so that judges can have a concrete evidence to base their decision on.

“I’m not satisfied because I believe judges can do better. But the truth is that we must improve on our evidence collection. Evidence is key in cases of human trafficking and SGBV. Prosecutors can only work with what they have. Investigators have a lot to do” she said.

Reading from her book, ‘Parenting In The 21st Century’ Okah-Donli, the Executive Chairman Roost Foundation, an anti-human trafficking non-governmental organisation while charging parents to protect the privacy of the girl-child emphasised that adequate attention must be paid to the boys as well.

While noting that girls are more vulnerable to abuse, she remarked that boys are not immuned from violation in contemporary society.

She linked the growing sexual and gender-based violence in the society to the activities of people she described as ‘careless mothers’.

“There was a reported case of a careless mother who left her children in care of a male steward and he abused them for months unnoticed, enticing them with sweets and biscuits until he was caught by a neighbour in the act.

“There are cases too numerous to mention but the use of a camera will reduce incidences like this as parents will be able to monitor their children although it is not advisable to leave the girl child with any male domestic staff like cooks, security man, washer man, steward and others. An adult female must always be at home with the children.

“When the mother is travelling, a trusted relation or friend should be contacted to check on the kids from time to time in addition to the mature housemaid and husband’s supervision” she advised.

Okah-Donli while appealing to parents to properly dress their children, create separate rooms between the girls and boys as much as they can, and teach them what constitutes inappropriate touch as a way of protecting their privacy also called for the inclusion of sexual and gender-based violence studies in the school curriculum.

The Bayelsa born legal practitioner who was in 2020 elected the chairman Board of Trustees of United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons’ (UNVTF) also has to her credit other published works, including ‘Murky Waters’ and ‘Ending Human Trafficking In Nigeria: Innovative Policies, Strategies and Tactics’.

In her remarks, chairman of ANA FCT chapter, Halima Usman stressed that education has a significant role to play in curbing sexual and gender-based violence in the country.

She said education opens one’s imagination, exposes to reality, gives courage, strength and wisdom to know what to do in seemingly difficult situations.

“A lot of these girls that have been coerced or become victims of sexual violence and trafficking were actually deceived.

“But when you are educated, you will be able to know the indicators, understanding where somebody’s action is likely to lead you to, then you will be able to say no or report it to the appropriate quarters and know the measures to secure yourself.

“Education will give you wisdom. It is very important in the fight against child trafficking, it is important in fighting forced labour and related crimes” she said.

Usman also urged parents to stop abdicating their responsibilities to teachers and religious leaders, insisting that they must create time to inculcate in their children the value they should grow with.

Research shows that gender-based violence is a global problem that continues to limit women and girls from achieving their full potential, and a survey published by NOIPolls in July 2019 suggests that up to one in every three girls living in Nigeria experiences at least one form of sexual assault by the time they reach 25 years old.

According to the United Nations children agency UNICEF, the majority of these cases of sexual abuse in the country are not prosecuted.

In 2019, Nigeria launched its first national sexual offenders register, setting up a database of those convicted for sexual violence in a move seen as an important step towards clamping down on abuse.

It was expected that ordinary citizens will be able to access the register, which is managed by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking Persons, NAPTIP and funded mainly by the European Union.