The House of Representatives on Tuesday 16th July 2019 urged the Federal Government to Establish Rehabilitation and Re-integration Programmes for victims of rape and other sexual offences in every State of the Federation in line with the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP), 2015 following a motion by Hon. Shina Abiola Peller (APC: Oyo) on “Need to Tackle the Scourge of Rape and Other Sexual Offences against Children in Nigeria” at plenary.
Presenting the motion, Hon. Peller stated that gender-based violence, such as rape and other forms of sexual abuses, had assumed alarming dimensions globally and in Nigeria with the prevalence estimated at 80%, (with children and babies not being spared the scourge). He also put the prevalence rate of rape incidents among adolescent females as between 11 to 55% and highlighted a statistic from the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) that reported that one in four Nigerian girls had experienced sexual violence before the age of eighteen.
Hon. Peller recalled the significance in the passage of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act in 2015, which has been heralded as a milestone for women’s rights. He also emphasized that its provisions seek to protect women and girls from all forms of violence (rape, sexual harassment, harmful traditional practices and domestic, physical, and psychological violence) before briefly making reference to one Idris Ebiloma who is currently under trial in the Courts for allegedly raping a 4-year old child.
Speaking further, the lawmaker mentioned that Section 38 (1) of the VAPP Act grants victims access to comprehensive legal, medical, psychological and social assistance that are provided by Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). In addition, the said provision mandates that victims are informed of the assistance and its rehabilitation and the re-integration programmes at the expense of the State. However, he worried that despite the provisions of the VAPP, it faced implementation challenges as a vast majority of victims in Nigeria continued to lack support. The lawmaker also expressed concerns that failure to support rehabilitation and re-integration programmes for victims of sexual abuses could curb efforts towards preventing sexually transmitted infections, managing unwanted pregnancies and preventing the spread of HIV and other diseases such as Hepatitis B.
The House consequently resolved to:
- Call on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to prepare a National Policy Framework to guide the implementation of the VAPP that will provide further certainty to the law regarding the minimum age a person can consent to sexual activity;
- Urge State governments to maintain sexual offences registers in their respective States;
- Further call on the Attorney-General of the Federation to ensure that Idris Ebiloma is diligently prosecuted for the offence he is accused of committing; and
- Mandate the Committees on Justice and Police Affairs (when constituted) to ensure compliance with the said resolutions.
