BEVERLY HILLS, August 14, (THEWILL) –Â The growing cases of rape and other violence against women and girls in Borno State has been condemned.
Coordinator of Women in the New Nigeria and Youth Initiative (WINN), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Mrs. Lucy Yunana, condemned the development on Thursday in Maiduguri, the state capital, at a Capacity Building Workshop on Violence Against Women/Girls organised for youth groups in the state.
She described as unfortunate a situation where most of the cases went unreported to relevant authorities for appropriate action, blaming this on fear of stigmatisation by the victims and their parents which may make it difficult for the girls to get married in future.
She also expressed surprise that some over 60 or 70 years-old men were molesting, harassing and even raping a girls of between four to 10 years for spiritual purposes and other money-making rituals.
Yunana therefore called on government at all levels, NGOs, families, traditional and religious leaders to play a vital role in the fight against rape and other violence against women and girls in the society.
She explained that her organisation, WINN, has the mission of empowering Nigerian women to change the battered image of the country, eradicating corruption, through enlightenment programmes, training, advocacy and networking by its committed members towards supporting women and girls in their difficult situation.
She disclosed that her organisation was determined to work with the judiciary, legislative, police and all law enforcement agencies to achieve its goals .
In a paper on Violence Against Women/Girls, a lawyer, Fatima Shehu, who also teaches at the Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri, urged Nigerians to report any cases of rape and other related violence against women/girls to the nearest police station or relevant authorities.
She also called on girls to dress decently, saying indecent dressing exposes them to danger from rapists, with the attendant possibility of the victims contracting sexually transmitted diseases, (STDs) and HIV/AIDS, among others.
