The National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday said it received over 1.7 million sexual and gender-based violence complaints received in 2021.
NHRC Director Women and Children Department, Harry Obe, disclosed this on NTA’s Good Morning Nigeria’s breakfast show monitored by The PUNCH.
The official also condemned the controversial death of the late popular gospel artiste, Osinachi Nwachukwu, and urged persons in abusive relationships to speak up.
Obe spoke on the television programme alongside Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, who said she almost cried when Osinachi’s children narrated their late mother’s ordeal in the hands of their father, Peter Nwachukwu, who is now in police custody.
The NHRC director said, “Some few weeks back, I was at a programme with the honourable minister (Tallen) and we gave statistics of sexual and gender-based violence complaints that come into the commission.
“In 2021, that is last year, the commission received over 1.7 million complaints in total. Out of that about over 900,000 affected women and children and then out of the over 900,000, about 150,000 were on sexual and gender-based violence across the Federation.
“What does that tell us, it means, this problem is endemic. It just takes the bold to speak about it. I’m happing people are beginning to speak about it and that is why we are getting the numbers.”
The official further said the “endemic” required punitive measures to serve as deterrent against abusers.
“It calls for collective response from stakeholders in terms of watching out and ensuring that when it happens, let it be punished for others to see that if you act this way, you should expect reactions from government, stakeholders or responders in a particular way. It is a very disturbing situation,” Obe added.
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