NAPTIP TARGETS 10 MILLION PERSONS DURING 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM

Oru Leonard

The National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and its partners have concluded plans to reach out to about10 Million persons in Nigeria affected by various forms of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) during the 16 Days of Activism.

The planned outreach will include; awareness creation messages on how to report any form of SGBV and how to seek for rescue and assistance; trauma counselling and legal advice for SGBV survivors; reaching out to survivors in various shelters and communities; traditional and social media engagements, amongst others.

The Director General of NAPTIP, Dr Fatima Waziri–Azi, has disclosed that these activities are part of the Agency’s plans in collaboration with some of its partners to commemorate the 2021 Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence alongside other countries of the world.

NAPTIP’s partners for these activities are: The Office of the Vice President; National Human Rights Commission; Nigeria Police Force; Social Development Secretariat; European Union Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme implemented by British Council; Ford Foundation; Justice Research Institute, and The CANS.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign against violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25 November, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10th December, which is the Human Rights Day every year. It was initiated in 1991 by the First Women’s Global Leadership Institute, held by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University. NAPTIP’s theme for this year is: Watch Out and Speak Out for Justice.

It is a strategy for individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence against women; to improve advocacy on issues relating to gender-based violence and to impress on policy makers and state actors on the need to formulate gender compliance policies and implementable programmes.
The Director-General has further called for a global effort to end all forms of gender violence, rape and discriminatory policies against the girl child. Specifically, she advocates for a crisis free learning environment, deliberate assisted funding and adequate mentoring for career advancement for girls.

The Director General has stated that this year’s celebration shall align with her 4 points strategic focus, which are: increased conviction rates of SGBV cases; sustainable rehabilitation and reintegration of survivors; enhanced awareness creation and sensitization on issues of SGBV; and improved visibility for the Agency and its partners.
Dr Waziri – Azi also outlined other programmes lined up for the 16 days to include: NAPTIP sensitization walk with partners tagged “Walk United Against SBGV” to create maximum awareness; a novelty football match designed to kick offenders to prison; campaigns to secondary schools across the country; launch of the maiden edition of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Report under the leadership of the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq; and the unveiling of the new episode of an awareness drama curated by the NAPTIP Drama Club.
Dr Waziri–Azi has called for the collaboration of all stakeholders and beneficiaries in ensuring the overall success of the activities.