The Canadian High Commission is advocating for a punitive action against Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the country.
In a bid to achieve this, Canada has renewed its partnership with civil society organization, Connected Development (CODE) to drive the domestication of the Violence against person prohibition (VAPP) Act and the Child’s Right Act.
Acting Canadian High Commissioner, Kevin Tokar, said SGBV is a crisis in Nigeria that must be condemned and his country is willing to assist states that are yet to implement the VAPP act, achieve the milestone.
Tokar made the statement in Abuja, at a press conference launching the galvanized mass action against sexual and gender based violence.
He said, “It’s a crisis in Nigeria that we must condemn and work together to eliminate. For the past few years, we’ve seen a number of states in Nigeria pass and start to implement the VAPP Act which has given us hope but not all states have achieved this important milestone and much more work is needed, which is where our partnership with CODE comes into play. With Canada’s support, CODE will continue to galvanize mass action against SGBV in Kano State by ensuring the passage of the VAPP and Child’s Rights Act.”
Chief Executive of CODE, Hamzat Lawal, said his organisation is taking peculiar steps towards eradicating gender-based violence in northern Nigeria, focusing on Kano State.
He also said the launch of the second phase of its Galvanizing Mass Action Against Gender-Based Violence in Kano (GMAA-K) campaign, highlights the target to develop a multi-year Kano State Action Plan to end all forms of gender-based violence as well as drive the adoption and integration of the Violence against person prohibition (VAPP) Act and the Child’s Right Act.
