For the record: communiqué on tackling the menace called rape: a multi sectoral approach with a paradigm shift, developed by gender development initiative after a webinar (zoom) held on july 4 2020

July 11, 2020

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The Board of Gender Development Initiative wishes to thank everyone that attended our webinar of 04^th July, 2020, and for which the onus of presenting the communiqué rests.

The following speakers who are experts in the various fields of humanity gave robust presentations from which arose this communique. They are: Dr. Abayomi Erinoso (Public Health Expert and Rights Advocate), Mrs. Mopelola Arowosafe (Founder Intending Couples Class}, Mr. Ayansola Olusegun (Clinical Psychologist) and Mrs. Dedoyin Ajayi (Emotional Health Specialist).

In this regard, the Gender Development Initiative thought it wise to produce a communiqué in line with the various presentations and deliberations at this retreat. The communiqué is hereby presented below, to address these critical areas:

The Gender Development Initiative is highly concerned about the rising incidence of rape in our society. We are outraged by all acts of rape, sexual assault and other inhumane acts committed by members of our society. Rape is a menace and one of the major steps to combating it is getting everyone educated about the types of rapes/ rapists out there which include but are not limited to – anger rape, sadistic rape, power assertive rape, lust induced rape etc
Sexual violence committed is a violation of the rights of the concerned individuals as defined by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 and the Child Rights Act 2003.
Boys and Men are the principal perpetrator and enabler of sexual violence in Nigeria. Sexual violence have been used as a tool to terrorize and punish women, men and children. Education of boys and men on the consequences of their actions in life and how to be responsible from onset of life is vital.
Sexual violence perpetrated by any party will not be tolerated in Nigeria. Perpetrators need to be held accountable.
The mental health sector needs to actively create structures and measures towards seeking the mental well-being of rape victims as well as validating their pain in order to ensure that more victims open up.
There must be social mobilization, community engagements and skillful communication about the attendant societal ills of the prevalence of rape including information and education of the gatekeepers, opinion leader (youth, religious, corporates, and formal and informal sectors). This would help demystify the subject of rape and educate the populace on proactive measures to take, in order to greatly reduce the number of rape incidences recorded in Nigeria.
We fully endorse capital punishment for offenders support national and international efforts to tackle the scourge of sexual violence.
Men must challenge (speak out) violence between men and the society must place equal attention on violence against men and women.
Media advocacy should be activated as a way of helping young men to be more critical of rape culture and their relationship with women.
We want the following measures to be taken: a. Relevant Government Agencies are to issue clear orders prohibiting sexual violence; b. show commitments to ensuring the timely investigation of alleged abuses at all levels; c. have timely intervention at bringing the perpetrators to book, as a way of ensuring the full implementation of this communiqué.
We hereby call for a sustainable end to all violence in Nigeria. We therefore call upon all appropriate Agencies and Arms of the Government to fulfill its obligations to restore peace and security in Nigeria.