Osun State Ministry of Justice on Friday said perpetrators of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the state would be prosecuted to serve as deterrence to others.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Adekemi Adejare-Bello said this in Osogbo, the state capital while receiving members of Civil Societies advocating for full implementation of the new Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law in the state.
She said the Ministry of Justice remains committed to the cause of justice in the state and assured that VAPP Law would be used judiciously to deal with perpetrators of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Osun State.
Bello commended CAI4SR and other partners for their efforts in ensuring justice for survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. She assured me that the Ministry would support the organisation to realise its objectives.
Executive Director, Community Advancement Initiative for Self Reliance, Mrs. Eni Ayeni said the alarming rate of sexual and gender-based violence in Osun state calls for immediate action to end the menace.
Ayeni appealed to the state Ministry of Justice to sets up Sexual Assault Referral Centre and take the necessary steps to make the operational without delay.
Ayeni explained that the advocacy visit to the ministry was part of efforts towards the activation of Violence Against Persons Prohibition and the Administration of the Criminal Justice Laws in Osun State so as to end SGBV in the state.
She appealed to the state Ministry of Justice to sets up Sexual Assault Referral Centre to resolve the issue of lack of evidence.
She noted that her organisation and Lawyers Alert are members of the SGBV Justice Network (SJN) Cluster under the USAID SCALE project advocating for the activation/implementation of VAPPL and ACJL in Bauchi, Benue, Enugu, Kaduna, Osun, and the FCT, towards speedy justice service delivery and resolution of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases.
According to her, “Community Advancement Initiative for Self Reliance (CAI4SR) is a Non-governmental and not-for-profit organization founded in 2009 but registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2014 to champion the course of women, children, and persons with disabilities through innovative programmes to ensure the protection of rights and attainment of full potentials of its target.
A human rights activist in the state, Lola Wey said urged traditional ruler and community leaders to raise awareness of the new Law in their localities.