Bauchi VAPP law: NAWOJ charges govt, CSOs on awareness to combat SGBV

Bauchi VAPP law: NAWOJ charges govt, CSOs on awareness to combat SGBV

From Paul Orude Bauchi

The National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ Bauchi State chapter, has appealed to the state government and the organised private sector to carry out awareness campaigns on the Violence Against Persons (VAPP) law.

Chairperson of NAWOJ in the state, Mrs Rashida Yusuf Mohammed made the call at a one – day Bi-Annual Shared Learning Dialogue on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) towards Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) held at the NUJ Secretariat, Bauchi, on Thursday.

The meeting was organized by the Ikra Foundation for Women and Youth Development.

“We have noticed that the VAPP law which was recently passed in the state has not really got to the real people that are supposed to be aware of its content,” the NAWOJ Chairperson, who was represented by Hajia Hauwa Aliyu, an Ex-Officio of the association, stated.

“The elite are not even aware and so also most people are not informed about the VAPP law.

“There is therefore need for the state government, the private sector and the CSOs to diversify efforts to educate the people on the consent of the VAPP law for an effective implementation

“People need to be educated and enlightened on what the VAPP law entails so that people will now know and exercise their rights and take up issues as they unfold”

The Chairperson reiterated the commitment of NAWOJ to support Ikra Foundation and the SGBV Justice Cluster to advocate for effective justice delivery for survivors of SGBV through dissemination of information to the right target.

Speaking during the event, the Programme Manager of Ikra Foundation for Women and Youth Developemnt, Precious Dare, said the bi-annual PPP meeting was first of its kind in the State.

“Public and Private consolidation have been working for a long time so this is a welcome innovation from Ikra Foundation to Bauchi State because it will help in enhancing projects for combating SGBV,” she said.

“The main message we want to pass is that we are extending our hand of impact and collaboration to private sectors as we are giving private delivery to public sector.

“The major message is that private sectors have benefits if they collaborate with the public sector because a lot of gaps can be breached which we cannot do alone as a service delivery provider but with the help of private sector we can achieve more and they also will have benefits like tax deductions and benefits

“That is why we have FIRS and the BIRS and others here so that they can also have their products advertised at internationally recognized on a larger stage

“But by and large we want Bauchi State and the country to get more relevance when it comes to combatting SGBV”

In a keynote speech on the significance of PPPs in ending SGBV and the role of collaborative efforts in addressing the issue, Executive Director of Ikra Fiundation, Amina Ahmed,  praised the state government for passing the VAPP law saying it has provided framework within to carry out the Foundation’s work

Ahmed said the VAPP law implementation cannot be left to the state government alone saying in developed countries the private sector has provided an edge to government for implementation of VAPP laws through PPP.

“That is why we are calling on the private sector in Bauchi State to join together with the Civil Society sector and work hand in hand with the government to fill in the gaps that are involved in trying to meet up with our responsibility of providing services to survivors of SGBV or putting systems in place to prevent reoccurrence of SGBV,” the Ikra Foundation Executive Director stated.