EiE Nigeria Weekly Update Friday, June 5, 2020

We Must Protest this Injustice!

June 05, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

Friday, June 5, 2020 EiE Nigeria Weekly Update

"Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions. But we must all protest." - Martin Luther King Jr.(Civil Rights Activist)

Recent events in Nigeria have revealed a seemingly silent 'epidemic' - Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

SGBV appears silent as survivors find it difficult to speak up for varying reasons including fear, threat, backlash, and attack on their person. 

As a society,

it's our duty to rise to the defence of survivors.

However, a certain section of the society engages in ‘victim-blaming’ by raising absurd irrelevant issues like how the survivor dressed.

Rape, sexual assault & harassment are never the faults of the survivor, the only person guilty is the perpetrator.

Recent cases show the widespread nature of SGBV in Nigeria. These include:

  • 18-year-old Jennifer who was gang-raped by 5 men who had drugged her in Kaduna.

  • A 15-year-old girl who was raped repeatedly by 4 men to the point that she could barely walk and had to undergo surgery in Bauchi.

  • 12-year-oldFarishina was has been raped by 11 men on different occasions in Jigawa.

  • 22-year-old Uwavera Omozuwa was raped while she went to read in a church near her home, she died 3 days later in Edo.

  • 18-year-old Barakat was murdered in her home in Ibadan after she resisted being raped during a robbery.

  • Tina Ezekwe who was shot by trigger happy police officer and died 2 days later in Lagos.

These cases point to the failure of the Nigerian government to secure citizens

as mandated in Chapter 2, Section 14b of the Nigerian constitution (1999).

Active citizens protested

against sexual and gender-based violence

today, June 5th,

in Abuja & Lagos. They

demanded that the government declare a state of emergency

on SGBV

in Nigeria.

Our common enemy is sexual and gender-based violence,

anyone can be a survivor.

We must unite and speak with one voice against this societal ill.

Let our voices be heard! We are all we have. 

To join the protest against this injustice,

and ask them to declare a state of emergency on 

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

in Nigeria.

Are you a survivor of sexual violence? Do you need help? You can reach out to

via

or

Have a great weekend,The EiE Nigeria Team