By Muhammad Aminu
No fewer than seven cases of rape were reported with some involving minor in various parts of Kano State in the month of June alone.
This was revealed by the Gender-based Violence (GBV) monitoring team of the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) during a press briefing on Thursday, 21st July, 2022 in Kano.
CITAD’s GBV project manager, Zainab Adamu said there are reported cases of various Gender-Based Violence on the increase in the State.
She said online harrassment, sexual abuse and harrassment have significantly increased in June when compared with reported cases in May.
“Rape cases were 7, Online Harassment 22, Sexual Blackmail 8, Sexual Harassment60, Sexual Abuse39, Wife Battering 3 while School Violence1, she noted.
She stated that the data collected for the month of June showed “In comparison with the data obtained in previous months, GBV cases are still on the increase. 140 cases were reported via our GBV App for the month.”
According to her, CITAD’s GBV App and Sustained awareness creation have increased people’s reporting of the GBV hence the need to have perpetrators brought to justice.
“The GBV Offenders database which the government adopted recently will go a long way in curbing the menace as offenders will rather desist from the act than to be publicly shamed.
“As much as we continue to monitor and report, we will like to appeal to parents, relatives and others to always report cases to the various agencies handling GBV cases. Keeping silent will not protect the victims who suffer. It encourages the perpetrators to take this silence as a stamp of acceptability, she added.
She reiterated CITAD’s call to Kano State Government to create Special court for GBV related cases and monitoring units in schools to help check GBV in schools to enable students particularly female students to be protected from abuse.
She appealed to all other stakeholders and the general public to lend their support and cooperation to combat Gender-Based violence both physically and virtually.
