Condemnations continue to rise against the spate of violence against women and children in Africa and Nigeria as the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) on Wednesday restated its stance that perpetrators must be punished.
Speaking ahead of their upcoming Africa Regional Congress, in Abuja, Chief Mrs. Victoria Awomolo, SAN, Regional Vice President (West & North Africa) FIDA,told judicial correspondents that prosecutorial agencies must rise to the occasion by charging offenders to court using the Violence Against Person’s Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015 which currently is applicable in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and three other states in the country.
Noting that the VAPP Act covers all areas of violence against persons including applicable punishments, the Senior Advocate said these issues and more would be part of the discuss at the FIDA Africa Regional Congress 2019 which will take place from the 11-15th October, 2019.
Addressing the question of gender and sexual violence; particularly the rape of minors, rising wave of incest as well as the need to create a level playing field in politics for women, Mrs Awomolo said the status of women and children in Africa has not changed.
“The status of women and children has not changed much in Africa. We still have many cases of discrimination against women in the homes, cultural practices don’t favour us, in workplaces, we are also discriminated upon.
“The one that is in the front burner now, is gender violence” she stated.
“Gender violence is becoming rampant now, particularly the case of rape. Minors are being defiled on a daily basis, and we have to create awareness to put an end to this dastardly act.
“You now see fathers raping their daughters, and uncles raping infants; a child as young as 6 months is now being raped and one wonders why.”
Mrs Awomolo, who was elected in 2017 at the FIDA Convention in Bahamas, said the theme of the Africa regional congress is, “The growth of Women and Children in Africa Beyond Rhetoric”.
What informed the theme, she said, was the many discussions on the status of women and children in Africa, particularly Nigeria.
She said the FIDA Africa Regional Congress “will equally lend voice our to the fact that African women have grown beyond just being in the kitchen to much more.
