Kano records 1,300 sexual, gender violence cases in 10 months – NHRC

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Kano State, says it has received 1,300 complaints of Gender Based Violence (GBV) from January to October, 2022.

NHRC’s Coordinator in the state, Shehu Abdullahi disclosed this at a town hall meeting on Thursday in Kano.

The theme of the forum is, “United! Activism to end violence against women and girls”.

The event is being organised by Fridabs Solacebase Communication in collaboration with Wole Soyinka Centre For Investigative Journalism and MacArthur Foundation, to commemorate 16th Day Activism.

Abdullahi said that most of the GBV victims were children between the ages of zero to nine years, adding that most of the violence resulted to death and mental health problems.

“All relevant stakeholders need to come together and take proper care of this prevalent issue,” he said.

Speaking on the 16-Day Activism, Abdulateef Abubakar, said it was an annual event set aside by the United Nations (UN) to raise awareness towards ending violence against women and girls.

“It is being commemirated from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10, to eliminate violence against women and girls.

“Efforts have been put in place to check violence against girls and women.

“When we look at the cultural aspect amongst us, there is silence on cases of GBV, some of the violators walk freely in the society as if they did nothing wrong.

“Most of the victims refused to report to the relevant authorities about abused, rape or domestic violence, they rather keep quite and die in silence,” he said.

Also, Abba Bello-Ahmed, Administration Manager, Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Kano, urged the people to speak up rather than silence as this would aggrevate the situation.

He advocated for a legal framework to empower security agencies and human rights groups to enhance their operations towards tackling GBV in the state.