BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
The International Federation of Women Lawyers in Ebonyi State has lamented the surge in rape cases and gender based violence against women and girl child in the state, describing the development as depressing and anti-social.
Investigations by the women lawyers in Ebonyi revealed that a total of 63 rape cases and gender based violence were reported against the vulnerable groups in the state between year 2020 and the third quarter of 2021.
In an exclusive interview with The Point in Abakaliki, chairman of the association, Grace Iheanacho-Chima, said that rape cases were hardly reported because of fear of stigmatization.
She holds the view that the documented figure of the alleged rape cases within the period under review would have been higher if properly documented.
Specifically, she attributed the shortfall in the reported cases to constant abandonment of alleged incidents of assault and rape by complainants’ families due to threats and fear of attacks.
Iheanacho-Chima said that of the 63 recorded rape cases in the state within the period, 25 victims are between ages one and 10.
Fourteen of the victims are between ages 11 and 18, while 24 are female adults who were reportedly battered by their spouses with threat to their lives and being deprived of their inheritance.
The association disclosed that judgements were in favour of five victims. In 38 cases, the defendants were said to be in prison custody with cases pending in courts.
The remaining cases were reportedly abandoned by the complainants at different stages of the prosecution.
Iheanacho-Chima, while emphasizing the need for respect for girl child and women in the society, said that the association had resolved to follow up the reported rape and assault cases in the interest of justice.
She said, “The reported numbers of rape cases that are known to us are just few between the last quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2021. Most of the complainants backed out/ abandoned the cases after lodging them while others abandoned the cases and resulted to settle with the defendants out of court at the detriment of the victims.
“To that effect, we resolved to prosecute parents who suggested out-of-court settlement in cases of rape as having aided and abetted the crime.
“The good thing here is that in majority of the cases, the defendants are already in prison and the matters are pending before courts of competent jurisdictions. We will make sure that matters are not swept under the carpet. The culprits must face full weight of the law and, if found guilty, must serve jail terms accordingly.
“The girl child is a human being that has rights and potentials. She should not be discriminated against; she should be given the best education like her male counterparts. A girl child should not be used as a toy or instrument to toy with. Days are gone when culprits go unpunished and the girl dies in silence.
“So, in celebration of the girl child this year, I call on all the girls to break the culture of silence. The culture of silence had done more harm than good to womanhood. As we try to pass the message to the girls, they should understand that nobody has the rights to violate their rights, not even your parents have the rights to make you suffer injustice.
“we resolved to prosecute parents who suggested out-of-court settlement in cases of rape as having aided and abetted the crime”
“Peradventure you had suffered; you have to open up so that culprits would face the full weight of the law. I assure you of free prosecution of the matters up to a logical conclusion.
“The girls have their rights for being human. If you look at the number of cases that we have, you will see that almost 80 percent had been violated. Some were sexually harassed, some were denied access to education, some were pushed into early marriage by parents in Ebonyi State, with some parents pushing their little children to marry much older men. We had two or three cases like that this year.
“The other one is a 15-year-old girl who is supposed to be in primary six but was forced into early marriage. She ran away from home and came to FIDA. Even before she located us, the parents suspected her intention to abscond and gave her serious beating of her life. There were scars all over her body when she came to our office.
“We are advocating that the girl child should be treated with dignity. If Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was treated that way years back, I am sure that she wouldn’t be where she is today. There are many other powerful women who, by virtue of education, became great. Invest in women and girls because if you train a woman, you have trained a nation. Whatever you give a female; she multiplies and gives back to the society.
“There are enough laws like the Violence Against Persons Law and the Child Rights Law which was domesticated in the state since 2010.
Section 4 of that law speaks of compulsory education for children irrespective of gender. That aspect of the law has not been fully implemented in Ebonyi State and Nigeria in general. No law enforcement agency cares to implement such laws. The girls hawking on the streets during school hours, if nothing is done, tomorrow you will still see them hawking during school hours.”
