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| Rape, domestic violence: Police, courts frustrating us, says rights group |
A non-governmental organisation, Project Alert on Violence Against Women, has said the police and the courts are frustrating attempts at getting justice for victims of domestic and sexual violence.
The Executive Director of the group, Mrs Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, in a statement on Sunday, lamented increasing rape cases in the country, adding that issues of sexual abuse must become campaign discussions.
She recalled the cases of 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje, who died after she was allegedly defiled by her guardian and the son; a 16-year-old student of Federal Government College, Calabar, allegedly impregnated by a former commissioner in Cross River State and taken for an abortion; 17-year-old Gift Alonge, who died in an accident after she was allegedly impregnated by the father in Edo State; and a five-year-old girl allegedly defiled by her 43-year-old Islamic teacher in Lagos.
“Most times, the burden of first responding to these cases falls on NGOs, as they are often called upon via social media platforms to take up these cases.
“This, they do, with a lot of passion, only to be confronted by institutional challenges and dysfunctional systems that cost them human and financial resources that are already scarce; and frustrate victims/survivors and their family and friends. And that is why you will always hear victims/survivors, say, ‘I leave it to God.’
“They do so out of frustration with the actions of the criminal justice system, especially the police, the courts, and government agencies and ministries,” Effah-Chukwuma said.
She noted that there was the need for better funding of police stations, creation of family support units in police divisions and setting up of shelters social welfare ministries throughout the federation.
The Executive Director of the group, Mrs Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, in a statement on Sunday, lamented increasing rape cases in the country, adding that issues of sexual abuse must become campaign discussions.
She recalled the cases of 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje, who died after she was allegedly defiled by her guardian and the son; a 16-year-old student of Federal Government College, Calabar, allegedly impregnated by a former commissioner in Cross River State and taken for an abortion; 17-year-old Gift Alonge, who died in an accident after she was allegedly impregnated by the father in Edo State; and a five-year-old girl allegedly defiled by her 43-year-old Islamic teacher in Lagos.
“Most times, the burden of first responding to these cases falls on NGOs, as they are often called upon via social media platforms to take up these cases.
“This, they do, with a lot of passion, only to be confronted by institutional challenges and dysfunctional systems that cost them human and financial resources that are already scarce; and frustrate victims/survivors and their family and friends. And that is why you will always hear victims/survivors, say, ‘I leave it to God.’
“They do so out of frustration with the actions of the criminal justice system, especially the police, the courts, and government agencies and ministries,” Effah-Chukwuma said.
She noted that there was the need for better funding of police stations, creation of family support units in police divisions and setting up of shelters social welfare ministries throughout the federation.
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