The Adamawa State government has established five sexual referral centres to address the menace of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the state.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Lami Ga’anda, stated this at a one-day roundtable discussion to commemorate 16 Days of Activism in Yola on Wednesday.

The United State Agency is organising the event for International Development (USAID), State2State Project, with the theme “Orange the World, end violence against women and girls now”.

Represented by Hassan Aliyu, prevention officer in the ministry, Ms Ga’anda described the event as “timely”, adding it would complement the government’s effort towards combating SGBV in the state.

According to her, the centres are providing services to survivors of SGBV across the 21 local government areas of the state.

“We have it in Mubi South, Michika, Yola, Mubi North and recently an additional One Stop Centre established at the Women Development Centre providing 24-hour services.

“We have all the services free of charge, we have lawyers, doctors, health workers, counsellors, Police and personnel of the Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC),” she said.

She said the ministry was conducting sensitisation activities in nine of the 21 LGAs, to create awareness of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law.

Also, Aishatu Abubakar, a representative of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), said the discussion would promote collaboration with other groups in the fight against SGBV.

She urged the state government to scale up sensitisation activities to enhance education on VAPP Law at the grassroots.

“It is important for people to be aware of the existence of the law as it will help reduce the violence to the barest minimum.”

One of the participants, Sani Sabo, commended State2State Project for organising the forum and called for more awareness creation on the VAPP Law.

Mr Sabo, who is also the Adamawa chairman, Persons Living with Disabilities, said the rate of abuse was high among PLWDs, stressing that proactive measures were necessary to protect them from abuse. 

(NAN)