Abuja Gets Referral Centre To Tackle Domestic, Sexual Violence
Malam Muhammad Bello, Minister of F.C.T[/caption]
Worried by the increasing rate of domestic and sexual related violence, minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Bello, has charged the FCT Social Development Secretariat to give special attention to the issue of violence against women and children.
The minister gave this charge while inaugurating the FCT Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team and the Gender Based Violence Referral Centre in the FCT on Monday in his office.
Malam Bello, who noted that the FCT ranked high among areas with prevalent cases of domestic and gender based violence, said with the right political will and cooperation among all stakeholders, a lot could be achieved to contain the scourge.
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He expressed gratitude to the office of the Vice President for initiating a national discourse on domestic and sexual violence, which culminated in this initiative being embarked upon by the FCT Administration.
According to him, “What we really need to do is to make sure that we all work together and I can assure you that with the right political will which is already on at the federal and FCT levels, if we get the right commitment from all offices, I think in a very short time, we will be able to achieve a lot.
“As difficult as this activity may appear to be, as long as you have pockets of success and it is well documented and publicized, that opens up a lot of confidence in what can be done and more importantly, gives people hope that whatever happens to a person, you always have a place where you will receive a listening ear, guidance and counseling, above all resolution of problems.”
Speaking earlier, the Acting Secretary, Social Development Secretariat, Mrs. Elegbede Adebola, said the referral centre enjoys the support of the Presidency, noting that domestic and sexual violence happens among the low and high, the educated and uneducated in the society and therefore called for concerted efforts.
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“In FCT, in the course of our service delivery in the Social Development Secretariat, we are confronted almost on daily basis with myriads of gender-based violence within and among families, siblings and within neighborhoods,” she stated.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Director-General of Legal Aid Council, Mrs. Joy Bob-Manuel commended the political will the FCT Minister has given to the fight and assured that her organization will complement the efforts of the FCT Administration in this direction.
