The bill to repeal and re-enact the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) (VAPP) Act, 2015 (SB.926) scales second reading in the Senate. The bill seeks to eliminate and prohibit any form of violence against persons in private and public life, to provide maximum protection and effective mediation for victims, and proffer punishments for offenders.
Leading the debate on the bill at the plenary session of Wednesday, 27 April 2022, Sen. Isah Jibrin (APC: Kogi) informed law makers that the VAPP Act, which was enacted in 2015, to address the rising cases of domestic violence against women contains certain provisions that are inimical to the realization of its objectives. According to him, some of the major areas of concerns in the Act are as follows:
- That the punishment of fine and imprisonment are infinitesimal to have any meaningful deterrent effect, particularly in view of current economic realities.
- That the offence of rape in section1 needs to be clarified to make a distinction between the absence of consent and consent obtained by fraud, undue influence and other unlawful means.
- That the provisions for compensation of victims of violence are inadequate.
- That the punishment for grievous nature of certain offences specifically section 22 (1) is not sufficient and in view of the rampant cases of chemical attacks, offenders under this section should not be given an option of fine. Likewise, the term for imprisonment needs to be reviewed upwards.
- That derogatory expression “mentally retarded” used in section 28 (4) of the Act should be replaced with a more subtle language.
- That there are errors of cross referencing which translates to difficulties in implementation.
- That the use of the terms “shall” and “may” in some sections do not convey any legislative intent.
- That the Act makes references to legislations that have been repealed. For instance, section 40 makes reference to the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.
Speaking on the highlight of the Bill, Sen. Jibrin explained that the Bill seeks to establish a Victims Support Fund to cater for victims of all forms of violence as well as provide for the composition, financing and management of the Fund.
The Bill which was unanimously adopted has been referred to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for further legislative action.
