Sexual and Gender Based Violence Archives - Centre for Social Justice

Sokoto VAPP POLICY BRIEF

Center for Social Justice — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 08:54:07 +0000

Two aphorisms are imperative in this introduction. The first is that a chain is as strong as its weakest link while a society is as strong as its most vulnerable groups. The second is that the best gauge of a society’s development is how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable groups. Women and the girl child have been identified as vulnerable in most Nigerian societies and their treatment is based on gender which is the socially constructed roles and characteristics of men and women influenced by customs, culture, religion, laws, policies, etc. The beauty of customs, culture and tradition is that they are dynamic and evolve as societies are impacted by new influences and norms. Modern societies are run by rules which govern the resolution of social conflicts as well
as allocation of resources, definition of rights, entitlements, duties, functions, and powers of different classes of citizens, authorities, and persons within the country. This is the context of law as the foundation of society and the validating basis of the actions and Laws are required to give effect to human rights and fundamental freedoms. The inherent right of the woman and girl child to human dignity expressed in S.34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) is the foundation of their right to freedom from violence. This freedom includes freedom from violence against women and girls (VAWG),gender-based violence (GBV), enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and protection from harmful practices (HP). The Fundamental Rights Chapter of the Constitution guarantees a plethora of rights to be enjoyed and exercised by all citizens of Nigeria without distinction or discrimination based on several grounds including sex and the circumstances of birth. Considering the interdependence, indivisibility, inseparability of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, the right to freedom from violence will be difficult to realise in isolation of other rights and freedoms. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action states that :
“Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of
equality, development and peace. Violence against women both violates and
impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental
freedoms”.
Even though, we hold the right to life as sacrosanct, the easiest way of depriving a woman or girl of her right to life is to use structural violence to deny her of a dignified life supporting environment to the point of abrogation. VAWG predisposes women and girls to violence, resulting in poor reproductive and sexual health outcomes, poor access to and control over resources, higher vulnerability to poverty at certain ages in life, poor access to education, lack of inheritance rights, lack of voice and minimal participation in decision making processes at different levels, etc. Thus, while seeking protection from VAWG, a holistic approach to the human rights of women is imperative. Nigeria is a Federation and states in Nigeria are bound by Nigeria’s international human rights obligations expressed in ratified treaties and other standards and states are expected to implement the contents of these standards in absolute good faith. A state

SOKOTO VAPP POLICY BRIEF

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ADAMAWA VAPP POLICY BRIEF

Center for Social Justice — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 08:34:24 +0000

Two aphorisms are imperative in this introduction. The first is that a chain is as strong as its weakest link while a society is as strong as its most vulnerable groups. The second is that the best gauge of a society’s development is how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable groups. Women and the girl child have been identified as vulnerable in most Nigerian societies and their treatment is based on gender which is the socially constructed roles and characteristics of men and women influenced by customs, culture, religion, laws, policies, etc. The beauty of customs, culture and tradition is that they are dynamic and evolve as societies are impacted by new influences and norms. Modern societies are run by rules which govern the resolution of social conflicts as well
as allocation of resources, definition of rights, entitlements, duties, functions, and powers of different classes of citizens, authorities, and persons within the country. This is the context of law as the foundation of society and the validating basis of the actions and inactions of men, women, boys, girls, institutions, and authorities. Laws are required to give effect to human rights and fundamental freedoms. The inherent right of the woman and girl child to human dignity expressed in S.34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) is the foundation of their right to freedom from violence. This freedom includes freedom from violence against women and girls (VAWG), gender-based violence (GBV), enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and protection from harmful practices (HP). The Fundamental Rights Chapter of the Constitution guarantees a plethora of rights to be enjoyed and exercised by all citizens of Nigeria without distinction or discrimination based on several grounds including sex and the circumstances of birth. Considering the interdependence, indivisibility, inseparability of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, the right to freedom from violence will be difficult to realise in isolation of other rights and freedoms.3The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action states that
“Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of
equality, development and peace. Violence against women both violates and
impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental
freedoms”.
Even though, we hold the right to life as sacrosanct, the easiest way of depriving a woman or girl of her right to life is to use structural violence to deny her of a dignified life supporting
environment to the point of abrogation. VAWG predisposes women and girls to violence, resulting in poor reproductive and sexual health outcomes, poor access to and control over resources, higher vulnerability to poverty at certain ages in life, poor access to education, lack of inheritance rights, lack of voice and minimal participation in decision making processes at different levels, etc. Thus, while seeking protection from VAWG, a holistic approach to the human rights of women is imperative. Nigeria is a Federation and states in Nigeria are bound by Nigeria’s international human rights obligations expressed in ratified treaties and other standards and states are expected to implement the contents of these standards in absolute good faith. A state cannot plead its domestic laws and practices in defence of its violation of treaty obligations and standards

ADAMAWA VAPP POLICY BRIEF

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MANUAL ON BUDGETING FOR THE REDUCTION OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

Center for Social Justice — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 16:22:32 +0000

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Chapter One 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; judicialinterventions 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 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 Manual on Budgeting for the Reduction of Gender Based Violence 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 emphasizes 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.
Manual on Budgeting for the Reduction of Gender Based Violence 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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MANUAL ON BUDGETING FOR THE REDUCTION OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS, SEXUAL AND GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND THE BUDGET IN A TIME OF CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC

CSJ Admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 18:34:34 +0000

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SGBV WORKSHOPS AND CAPACITY BUILDING COMMUNIQUES

CSJ Admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 18:33:06 +0000

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Sexual and Gender Based Violence and the Budget (A Review of Sokoto State: 2016-2019)

CSJ Admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 18:19:20 +0000

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Sokoto-State-SGBV-Report

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Sexual and Gender Based Violence and the Budget (A Review of Lagos State: 2016-2019)

CSJ Admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 18:09:44 +0000

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Sexual and Gender Based Violence and the Budget (A Review of Federal Capital Territory: 2016-2019)

CSJ Admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 18:05:09 +0000

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FCT-Report-on-SGBV-VAWG-HP-SRHR

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Sexual and Gender Based Violence and the Budget (A Review of Ebonyi State: 2016-2019)

CSJ Admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 18:02:01 +0000

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Sexual and Gender Based Violence and the Budget (A Review of Cross River State: 2016-2019)

CSJ Admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 18:00:17 +0000

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