The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and Ondo State Agency Against Gender-Based Violence (OSAA-GBV) yesterday, trained magistrates and prosecutors in the state on the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively handle Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases and also familiarise them with provisions of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law.

According to the Country Director of WFD, Adebowale Olorunmola, the training workshop was designed to foster collaboration and coordination between prosecutors and the judiciary in the implementation of VAPP law in the state.

Olorunmola also commended the state government for its commitment to combating GBV, saying that while many states had enacted similar laws, they often fell short in their implementation. He said: “We need to see that the prosecution needs to be done diligently. We want people to know about the implementation of the law, and who will do that?”

That is why we invited you (prosecutors and magistrates).

“We started implementation 10 months ago, and it has been a success. All we are going to do is brainstorm, make do with the implementation of the VAPP Law, and make it more efficient.”

On her part, Executive Secretary of OSSA-GBV, Bolanle Afolabi, said the impact of GBV was always felt by the survivors, their family members, and even the government.

Afolabi, who noted that the government spent money meant for other things in bringing offenders to book, urged the participants to make their challenges known so as to move forward.

Meanwhile, a member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, representing Ilaje Constituency II, Oluwumi Fayemi, gave the assurance that she would be an advocate of GBV cases at the plenary.

Fayemi said the cases were not peculiar to women alone but also men, urging all and sundry to support and ensure its eradication in the state.

Also, a professor of Political Science and Gender Expert, Bukola Osunyikanmi, said GBV is a global problem and not peculiar to Ondo State and the country alone.

Osunyikanmi said the most important aspect of getting justice is for survivors to speak out, saying: “Every case must be addressed accordingly when a survivor (victim) speaks out. There should be justice and nothing like people saying events have overtaken reported cases of gender-based violence.”

Source: The Guardian