AKEREDOLU'S WIFE SOLICITS PROFESSIONAL ATTENTION AT TACKLING RAPE AND OTHER VIOLENCE...

The Ondo State Governor's Wife, Mrs Betty Akeredolu has advocated for professionals in handling investigations into issues of rape and cases to enable victims speak out on their experiences as victims.

Mrs Akeredolu, speaking on the sidelines of the 4th stakeholders meeting of Ondo State Sexual Gender Based Violence at the Government House in Akure ,ondo state capital.

The governor's wife, said the rate at which the issues of rape cases was increasing in recent time was worrisome, saying that the rapists have graduated to killing of the victims after perpetrating by he or evil acts.

She said that the primary aim of the stakeholders meeting is to put an end to sexual base violence in the state and to incorporate educational system to have a sound man power and resources to take care of other areas that needed to be touched in preventing the menace.

According to her, we are looking at the area of counseling, which is part of sycosocial support and also need people who really have the language to get reliable information from the victims.

"I do not know what to say probably if I come across a rape victim, but professional will know what to do, the same thing applies to the reporting system that mostly happen when such cases is reported to security agents.

"The security agents should be train and grown to ask appealing and right questions from the victims, several times we had complaints when security agents will use derogatory words to ask questions from the victim.

"Obviously, such questions and kind of language is even abusive on its own, it discourages the victims to speak out.

"So, we must have professionals and we don't have many of them around in the state, we must develop advance stage that we can handle it professionally since the issue has become a cancer on it own,"She said.

She urged that courses in the higher institutions should be created to train manpower.

The State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Titi Adeyemi, said that provision has been made in the reviewed 2020 budget for sexual base violence in the state.

Adeyemi further explained that her ministry has designed a website aimed at providing brief and meaningful information, provide data on children home, sexual base violence and other issue of interest.

Mrs Bola Ogundadegbe, who represented the Ministry of Justice, said necessary amendment is going on VAP bill to accommodate inputs from sexual gender base violence stakeholders meeting.

Ogundadegbe, who also double as Chairperson of Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in the state, said that Commissioner for Justice has instructed the legal department to speed up its documentation to enable them submit the bill to the state house of assembly for legislative scrutiny and passage.

Mrs Opeyemi Agunbiade of the Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, (OSPHCDA) highlight their action plan to include establishment of free Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) at Primary Health (PHC) across the 18 council areas with conjunction of State Health Management Board.

Agunbiade said that the agency will develop a uniform protocol for administering rape kits, forensic medical examination, injury documentation, diagnostic testing and medical reporting of all SGBV cases.

She said that training of medical and counseling personnel of all state funded hospitals through its agency will be achieved in less than 2 month from now.

Stakeholders at the meeting included representatives from Ministries of Justice, Education, Health, Women Affairs and member of Child Development and Female Rescue Foundation, non governmental organisation specialising on rape cases.

Others were from National Council of Women Societies, Betty Anyanwu Foundation (BAAF), Nigeria Police Force and NSCDC.