Manual on Budgeting for The Reduction of Gender-Based Violence

When we talk about addressing women’s needs, this cannot be done only through discussions or only through women’s participation in decision-making, we also need money and resources. This is what gender-responsive budgeting is- a tool to empower women, in order to reduce inequality, which still persists in our society, and to allocate financial resources towards the reduction of gender-based violence.

Chapter One of the book is the introduction. It reviews the legal and constitutional obligation of governments to make a budget which shows the revenue and expenditure estimates as well as the priorities of government in any given year. Nigerian laws and policies have detailed provisions which prohibit gender-based violence. Various plans and strategic frameworks have outlined the path for the eradication of GBV. Furthermore, Nigeria is a signatory to various international and regional standards which creates the obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of women and girls to freedom from violence. Based on the plan, policy and budget continuum, budgets provide the framework for the implementation of laws, plans, policies and strategic frameworks. It provides the resources necessary for their implementation.

The budget is discussed as an economic, political and human rights instrument and process which has the purpose of system maintenance, economic, regulatory and control functions and is very relevant for the redistribution of resources. A gender transformative budgeting process is imperative for the reduction or eradication of GBV. A gender-blind budget on the other hand ensures that one half of society is marginalized, it lacks accountability, creates winners and losers in what should have been a “win-win” affair, proceeds from the blocked options approach while encouraging discrimination.

Chapter Two reviews international and national legal and policy frameworks on women and gender, violence against persons, child rights, maternal and child health, reproductive health and rights, female genital mutilation, rape, child marriage, intimate partner violence, prevention of trafficking in women, etc. These are all linked to GBV. The section equally reviewed laws, policies and programmes for access to family planning services, harmful practices, HIV prevention and treatment, second chance opportunity for girls, one stop centres for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence; medical, psychosocial, forensic and counselling services for female survivors of SGBV and other violations. The chapter further reviews laws, policies and programmes related to law enforcement with special interest on gender desks in police and other law enforcement agencies; judicial interventions including special courts and procedures to guarantee justice to victims of SGBV and VAWG.

Chapter Three describes budgeting more appropriately as a cycle. It is continuous because fiscal governance is a continuum. When one budget cycle is winding down, another begins. At the federal level, the cycle starts from the determination of priorities at the overall and sectoral levels through the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and the medium term sector strategies (MTSS). It proceeds to sending out the budget call circular by the Ministry of Finance, preparation of sectoral budget proposals, technical support and budget bilateral discussions between ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs) and the Budget Office/Ministry of Finance and approval of the executive budget by the Federal Executive Council. Thereafter, the President submits the estimates to the National Assembly who consider and approve of same. This is followed by presidential assent for the Appropriation Bill to become law. Implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting follows while audit is the last stage of the cycle. The same process is repeated at the state level between the respective ministries in charge of budgeting, the governor, State House of Assembly and MDAs. The chapter discusses the opportunities for civil society intervention at the various stages of the budgeting process and emphasises the need for gender and sex disaggregated statistics.

Chapter Four is focused on the strategies for civil society intervention. The strategies include budget analysis and budget advocacy. The later includes preparing parallel budgets on GBV, advocacy for realignment of expenditure proposals, litigation and engagement of international redress mechanisms. Others are the involvement of survivors, communities and stakeholders as well as lobby and participation in legislative hearings.

Chapter Five deals with responding to GBV through the budget. It presents broad GBV manifestations and proposes responses to them through recommended activities and projects in the votes of key relevant MDAs. The focus of the recommendations is on capital expenditure and overheads to fight GBV. Budgeting is expected to be based on evidence and data, take cognisance of the survivor centred approach and the best interest of the child when children are involved. It ought to recognise the overwhelming need for inter-agency collaboration considering the multiplicity of actors involved in the response to GBV and proceed from the need to fulfil the human rights of survivors to freedom from violence.

The identified challenges include sexual and gender-based violence as well as violence against women and girls. They include sexual violence, physical violence and emotional violence. The specific offences in the VAPP Act and similar laws include rape, inflicting physical injury on a person, coercion, spousal battery, offensive conduct, forceful ejection from home, harmful practices such as FGM and early marriage, etc. The relevant MDAs with recommendations for budgetary action are the Ministries of Women Affairs, Health, Justice, Education and Information. Others are the Police, The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, National Human Rights Commission, Legal Aid Council, National Judicial Institute, National Bureau of Statistics, National Population Commission and the National Orientation Agency.

Education in itself is a human right and also an indispensable means of realising other fundamental freedoms. Education equips women and girls to know their rights and the means and methods of claiming and vindicating the rights in the event of violation or taking steps to prevent violations. Female school enrolment, completion rate and educational attainment across the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education is lower than the male enrolment in the FCT as well as in other parts of Nigeria. The relevant MDAs with recommendations for budgetary action are the Ministries of Education, Women Affairs, Justice, the Police, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence

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