By Amos Aar
STAKEHOLDERS in Benue State have called on the state governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, to facilitate the signing of the amended Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill into law in order to combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
The stakeholders, which included the Sexual Assault Referral Center (SARC), BENGONET and Community Link Empowerment Initiative, made the appeal on Tuesday at the end of the commemoration of 16 Days of Activism Against GBV.
The groups held a road walk from Savannah Roundabout to the Government House, Makurdi, to present a communiqué to the governor outlining their requests.
In the communiqué, SARC, under the leadership of Linda Ene Dirisu, also appealed to Governor Alia to equip its center adequately to handle GBV cases effectively. The document further highlighted all activities and engagements carried out during the 16 days of activism.
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Receiving the draft communiqué, Governor Alia, represented by his chief of staff, Mr Paul Biam, expressed his administration’s commitment towards creating an enabling environment aimed at supporting efforts to minimize human rights abuses.
Governor Alia who promised to liaise with partners and other critical stakeholders to ensure that the policies targeted at minimising GBV cases were implemented in the state urged the people to be morally upright so that the younger ones would copy from them.
The governor also tasked Benue women to educate their female children on the need to always dress decently to avoid unnecessary harassment from the opposite sex.
