By Diana Omueza
The Network of Pro-Bono Lawyers has trained some Juvenile and Women police officers on response to cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), particularly as it affects women and girls.
Ms Andrea Kwen, the group’s Director of Communications said this at a One-Day training of Juvenile and Women Officers serving under the FCT Police Command.
Kwen said that the training was designed to help juvenile and women officers to approach and address cases of SGBV through a more gender inclined perspective.
She said this was because the officers played pivotal roles at the grassroots as first responders, and needed to be equipped with the right knowledge and capacity to approach SGBV issues.
“As network of pro-bono lawyers, we discovered that a major barrier to women and survivors of SGBV from accessing justice is that there are constitutional gaps.
“And one of these is the lack of capacity or limited capacity of first responders to approach this issue with peculiarity to gender and not just as a one-faced issue.
“This endemic which is a breeding problem needs to be addressed holistically especially at the grassroots where the first responders are domiciled.
“That is why we designed this training to build the capacity of Juvenile and women officers on approaches to SGBV at the grassroots where it seems to be on the rise, “she said.
She urged the trainees to ensure they stepped down the knowledge at their commands, especially in departments saddled with the responsibilities of addressing such issues.
Ms Noya Sedi, a Gender Advocate with the group said that there was need to build the capacity of officers to address issues of SGBV as it affected children with autism and mental disabilities
According to her, this group of the society are mostly misunderstood and marginalized due to their inability to express themselves especially in cases of abuses.
“That is why the 20 pages Toolkit were designed, to strengthen the capacity of first responders towards their responds to children who are autistic.
“Because we found out that in conversations of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), children with autism and mental disabilities are often neglected.
“So this toolkit is to bridge the gap by helping first responders identify strategies that can help address their cases and struggles,” she said.
Mr Austin Ekwujuru, a Board Member of the Young Professionals in Policy and Development (YouPad), commended the group for the initiative.
He said the menace of SGBV cannot be overstretched, it is a misnomer that should not be allowed to become normal and so all hands must be on deck to eradicate it.
“We must fight to bring it to its barest minimum and that is why we decided to support the network of pro-bono lawyers when they approached us for support.
“This is because this project is at the core of what we do at YouPad on fighting SGBV and achieving the Social Development Goal (SDG) five.
“We have carried out projects where we distributed sanitary pads to young girls in school, and ensure they have water and maintained good sanitation and hygiene..
“So we committed funding to this course because we know this issue of SGBV is a menace and the fight against it should be a collective effort not just for one group or the government alone,” he said.
Ekwujuru urged the group to go beyond building the capacity of first responders, but to also create awareness on the need to break the culture of silence and create safe spaces for victims and survivors.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that highlight of the event was the unveiling and public presentation of the 20 pages Toolkit and the training was supported by YouthHub Africa and Forum for Young Professionals in Policy and Development.(NAN)
