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Nigeria's Progress Slow in Fight Against Gender-Based Violence

Timothy Obiezu

   ABUJA, NIGERIA - Nigerian authorities this week launched the first
   nationwide register of sex offenders and held a procession in Abuja to
   raise awareness of and work to prevent violence against women. While
   they welcomed these as steps forward, women's rights activists and
   victims of gender-based violence note Nigeria has a poor record of
   prosecution.

   An event Monday in Abuja that marked the start of 16 days of activism
   against gender-based violence kicked off with a candlelight procession
   for victims at the National Centre for Women Development.

   Events in Nigeria are coinciding with the[1]16 Days of Activism Against
   Gender-Based Violence,an annual international campaigncoordinated each
   year by the Center for Women's Global Leadership at Rutgers University
   in New Jersey.

   Earlier on Monday,Nigerian authorities launched the first nationwide
   register of sex offenders to better track perpetrators.

   'Name-and-shame policy'

   The anonymity the online register affords victims is a major
   improvement on tracking offenders, saidJulieOkah-Donli, director
   general of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in
   Persons.

   "With the sex offenders register, it's a name-and-shame policy," she
   said." ...It's very important, because you have schools recruiting
   teachers, and houses recruiting helpers and drivers.Soyou have to be
   sure you're not recruiting a rapist or a pedophile."

References

   1. https://16dayscampaign.org/

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