The Kaduna government has reiterated its determination to enact severe penalties for rapists in accordance with the 2018 Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law (VAPPL).
For male rapists, the legislation permits surgical castration, and for female rapists, it permits bilateral salpingectomy.
The Kaduna government has reiterated its determination to enact severe penalties for rapists in accordance with the 2018 Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law (VAPPL).
Human Rights Raises Alarm Over High Rate Of Rape, Sexual Assaults
The commissioner of human services and social development, Rabi Salisu, made this revelation on Tuesday during a news conference in Kaduna. She was giving a speech at a symposium on gender-based violence that the ministry and the Centre for Integrated Health Programmes (CIHP) were organising.
She added that civil society organisations and Kaduna government institutions engaged in a protracted process of advocacy, lobbying, and awareness-raising before the law was finally passed. She mentioned that since the law’s enactment in December 2018, Kaduna state has seen a rise in the number of reported incidences of violence against women and girls (VAWG).
She stated, “It’s likely that greater knowledge of VAWG and the existence of the law are to blame for this.”
She continued by saying that, according to the National Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Data Situation Room and dashboard, Kaduna has seen an increase in incidences of gender-based violence, with 832 cases registered in 2023 so far.
Rape: Minister Advocates Death Penalty For Rapists
Additionally, she mentioned that the 16 days from November 25 to December 10 were designated as “Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign’, to show solidarity in eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls.
“While some level of progress has been made in this campaign to end violence against women and girls through the VAPPL, some challenges still exist,” she said.
Among the difficulties she mentioned were the prosecutors’ tardy adoption of the law, the undue pressure placed on survivors and their families to accept out-of-court settlements, the general public’s and service providers’ lack of awareness, and the delays in police and court prosecutions.
According to her, it is critical to improve access to critical clinical and non-clinical services for GBV survivors, bolster the legal system, and increase the number of GBV case findings.
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