TODAY
December 16, 2020
The African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) Nigeria Chapter has began to develop a scorecard that will track, review and appraise performance along the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) sector by government and institutions.
This was disclosed at the just concluded intergenerational dialogue on Sexual & Gender-Based Violence and Youth-Led Change Management as part of her Advocacy for Accelerated Action on Violence Against Women and Girls (3As-VAWG) Project in Nigeria.
The 3As-VAWG Project feeds into the wider purpose of the AWLN Nigeria Chapter’s 2020-2021 workplan which is to ensure more commitment by national and state actors in addressing violence against women and girls in Nigeria especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The laws affirm a divide and are offensive
An advisory opinion recently delivered by the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights held that all the countries within the continent are under obligation imposed on them by the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights to amend or repeal all their vagrancy laws. According to the court, these and related by-laws as well as other laws and regulations should be brought in conformity with the provisions of the Charter, the Children’s Rights Charter and the Women’s Rights Protocol. A vagrant is a person who does not have a fixed abode, a means of livelihood or practice a trade or profession.
According to her, the app is a digital platform built to connect victims and survivors of SGBV to first responders and other stakeholders working to eliminate all forms of sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria.
Describing UNSUB as an innovation borne out of a passion to create a data tool to not just track SGBV incidents and cases, but also follow through on providing practical access to justice for women and girls.
Khadija Muhammad Awwal said, “We strongly believe the fight against SGBV requires the collaborative efforts of all concerned and technology which has for decades now been providing lasting solutions to social problems is the best way to approach this fight against SGBV. Alone, there is only so much we can do while together we can do so much more.”