For many years, many women, including young girls, who have been sexually abused or beaten, have suffered in silence because of stigmatisation and the attitude of law enforcement agents who ought to offer them solace, writes JULIANA FRANCIS
Seventeen-year-old Grace stunned policemen at the Sabo Police Station, Lagos State, when she walked in and told them that her father had raped her several times. She said: “He said I was dating my church member.
He stripped me naked and beat me. He put pepper into my private part. The next day, he took me to a house with many rooms and beds. He asked me to undress, I refused but he slapped me. “I removed my clothes. He pushed me down on the bed. I tried to shout but he closed my mouth. He inserted a candlestick into my private part. Later, he removed it and laid on me. He started doing it,” she said.
But rather than empathise with Grace over her trauma, shame and courage in attempting to seek justice, one of the policemen on duty asked her caustically, “when your papa dey do am, the thing dey sweet you? Shey you dey enjoy am.”
(When your father was raping you, did you not enjoy it?) Other policemen laughed uproariously. This is not an isolated case. Many housewives who had been brutally beaten by their husbands and dashed to police stations to make complaints or seek safe haven, were shouted at or ridiculed by policemen, who would tell them to go home, be good wives and learn to respect their husbands. Some policemen even argued that it was right for a “husband to beat his wife because some women mouths are sharp like razor blade.
If they are not beaten, they will never learn to respect and fear their husbands. They won’t know who is in charge in house.” It was due to this obvious gross lack of knowledge on the part of many policemen in handling raped victims and battered women that led Executive Director, Media Concern Initiative, Dr. Princess Olufemi-Kayode, to organise a series of workshops, where she attempted to train policemen, who are usually the first to come in contact with victims of violence, how to handle such victims.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), in charge of Adeniji Adele Police Station, Mr Monday Agbonika, who had been particularly passionate, concerned and worried over the shabby treatment of victims of rape and battering, took a further step to ensure a special centre is built at the station. The centre is expected to handle and deliver quality service free to women and children who are victims of domestic or gender-based violence.
The centre is “expected to be a place of adjustment after rape or battering.” Located inside the Adeniji Adele Police Station, the centre is called the ‘Nigeria Police Family Support Unit.’ The unit was inaugurated on May 17.
In attendance were dignitaries and many members of the Adeniji Adele community as well as many white cap chiefs and market women. The happiest man at the event was probably Agbonika, who said he had been nursing and pursuing the idea of such a centre for long. He said: “This is the first policing plan for Central Police Station, Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos Island.
The plan was produced after wide consultation with community members and other key stakeholders. It is produced to explain to the community, who we are, what we do and the strategic priorities for the division for the next 12 months.
“The police are now committed to working together with the community to tackle local problems of safety and security.” The vision, according to him, can be traced to the period when Phil Evison and his team from J4A started the Model Police Station (MPS) project, sometime in 2011.
He said: “The idea was to have designated police stations nationwide as models, where initiatives would be taken, with room for regular adjustments, until best practices are identified, and such practices could then be replicated in other stations. “One of the initiatives was the Family Support Unit (FSU). The FSU was to be an upgrade of the traditional Nigeria Police Juvenile Welfare Centre (JWC). “In addition to th
e normal JWC cases of juvenile offenders, missing/ found children, sexual offences against minors, the FSU will also handle all GBV (Gender-Based Violence) and DV (Domestic Violence) cases.
“After the sound training by the highly professional team of international consultants from the United Kingdom, some of whom were themselves police officers for many years before consulting for the British Government, it became clear that there was a high incidence of GBV/DV cases in our community and cases were not being reported because of stigmatisation and other similar considerations.”
Agbonika said he had a vision to be able to focus on the victims, so that the vulnerable section of the society would have a voice. “We are relying greatly on partnerships with some women groups, the Ministry of Youths, Sports and Social Development, the judiciary, Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Public Defender (OPD), civil society organisations like Project Alert, Mediacon, and Women Arise for Change Initiative.
“I am therefore very delighted to announce to you, today, that Ford Foundation bought into this vision and made the dream come true. I must also acknowledge the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, whose reformation agenda encouraged change.
Also the Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Umar Manko, who gave us the opportunity and all those who believed in us and supported us in one way or the other towards the attainment of this vision.
“Today, we shall witness the opening of a new facility, the first of its kind in Africa, which is equipped and staffed by best global standards, to deliver quality services free to women and children, survivors of domestic and gender-based violence,” he added. Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, who spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on Security, Major Babatunde Panox, commended the Ford Foundation and Justice For All (J4A) for partnering with the police to build the centre. The governor said that such gesture would help to improve the services of the police.
The Regional Representative of Ford Foundation in West Africa, Mr Innocent Chukwuma, said that the organisation supported the project because of the need for a true police reform and to encourage best police officers to do more. National Programme Manager, J4A, Dr Bob Arnot, said that such unit would be built in Enugu and northern part of the country.
The state Police Commissioner, Manko, represented by ACP Imohimi Edgal, said the police had for long desired such unit. He called on the officers and men of the force to avail themselves of the training by the unit.
The fear, however, expressed by most of the guests at the event, is the lack of maintenance culture prevalent in the police. Arnot summed it up thus: “At the end of the day, the unit will be supported and staffed by Nigerians. It is not enough to wait for the Ford Foundation.”
Despite the fear, the may also face some challenges in handling rape cases. For instance, marital rape, according to Amnesty International, is not illegal in Nigeria. So, it may still be difficult for the centre to resolve domestic violence emanating from marital rape.
Rape is very prevalent in Nigeria but underreported. A study of students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan found that in their lifetimes 1.7 per cent (2.5 per cent of males and 1.1 per cent of females) had raped and 2.7 per cent (5.3 per cent of males and 0.9 per cent of females) had attempted rape. Out of a sample of 295 female students from Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, in South-East Nigeria, 36.7 per cent had experienced sexual harassment/victimisation at least once on campus. Of this, 32.4 per cent had been raped (10.8 per cent of the sample).
Seventeen-year-old Grace stunned policemen at the Sabo Police Station, Lagos State, when she walked in and told them that her father had raped her several times. She said: “He said I was dating my church member.
He stripped me naked and beat me. He put pepper into my private part. The next day, he took me to a house with many rooms and beds. He asked me to undress, I refused but he slapped me. “I removed my clothes. He pushed me down on the bed. I tried to shout but he closed my mouth. He inserted a candlestick into my private part. Later, he removed it and laid on me. He started doing it,” she said.
But rather than empathise with Grace over her trauma, shame and courage in attempting to seek justice, one of the policemen on duty asked her caustically, “when your papa dey do am, the thing dey sweet you? Shey you dey enjoy am.”
(When your father was raping you, did you not enjoy it?) Other policemen laughed uproariously. This is not an isolated case. Many housewives who had been brutally beaten by their husbands and dashed to police stations to make complaints or seek safe haven, were shouted at or ridiculed by policemen, who would tell them to go home, be good wives and learn to respect their husbands. Some policemen even argued that it was right for a “husband to beat his wife because some women mouths are sharp like razor blade.
If they are not beaten, they will never learn to respect and fear their husbands. They won’t know who is in charge in house.” It was due to this obvious gross lack of knowledge on the part of many policemen in handling raped victims and battered women that led Executive Director, Media Concern Initiative, Dr. Princess Olufemi-Kayode, to organise a series of workshops, where she attempted to train policemen, who are usually the first to come in contact with victims of violence, how to handle such victims.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), in charge of Adeniji Adele Police Station, Mr Monday Agbonika, who had been particularly passionate, concerned and worried over the shabby treatment of victims of rape and battering, took a further step to ensure a special centre is built at the station. The centre is expected to handle and deliver quality service free to women and children who are victims of domestic or gender-based violence.
The centre is “expected to be a place of adjustment after rape or battering.” Located inside the Adeniji Adele Police Station, the centre is called the ‘Nigeria Police Family Support Unit.’ The unit was inaugurated on May 17.
In attendance were dignitaries and many members of the Adeniji Adele community as well as many white cap chiefs and market women. The happiest man at the event was probably Agbonika, who said he had been nursing and pursuing the idea of such a centre for long. He said: “This is the first policing plan for Central Police Station, Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos Island.
The plan was produced after wide consultation with community members and other key stakeholders. It is produced to explain to the community, who we are, what we do and the strategic priorities for the division for the next 12 months.
“The police are now committed to working together with the community to tackle local problems of safety and security.” The vision, according to him, can be traced to the period when Phil Evison and his team from J4A started the Model Police Station (MPS) project, sometime in 2011.
He said: “The idea was to have designated police stations nationwide as models, where initiatives would be taken, with room for regular adjustments, until best practices are identified, and such practices could then be replicated in other stations. “One of the initiatives was the Family Support Unit (FSU). The FSU was to be an upgrade of the traditional Nigeria Police Juvenile Welfare Centre (JWC). “In addition to th
e normal JWC cases of juvenile offenders, missing/ found children, sexual offences against minors, the FSU will also handle all GBV (Gender-Based Violence) and DV (Domestic Violence) cases.
“After the sound training by the highly professional team of international consultants from the United Kingdom, some of whom were themselves police officers for many years before consulting for the British Government, it became clear that there was a high incidence of GBV/DV cases in our community and cases were not being reported because of stigmatisation and other similar considerations.”
Agbonika said he had a vision to be able to focus on the victims, so that the vulnerable section of the society would have a voice. “We are relying greatly on partnerships with some women groups, the Ministry of Youths, Sports and Social Development, the judiciary, Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Public Defender (OPD), civil society organisations like Project Alert, Mediacon, and Women Arise for Change Initiative.
“I am therefore very delighted to announce to you, today, that Ford Foundation bought into this vision and made the dream come true. I must also acknowledge the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, whose reformation agenda encouraged change.
Also the Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Umar Manko, who gave us the opportunity and all those who believed in us and supported us in one way or the other towards the attainment of this vision.
“Today, we shall witness the opening of a new facility, the first of its kind in Africa, which is equipped and staffed by best global standards, to deliver quality services free to women and children, survivors of domestic and gender-based violence,” he added. Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, who spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on Security, Major Babatunde Panox, commended the Ford Foundation and Justice For All (J4A) for partnering with the police to build the centre. The governor said that such gesture would help to improve the services of the police.
The Regional Representative of Ford Foundation in West Africa, Mr Innocent Chukwuma, said that the organisation supported the project because of the need for a true police reform and to encourage best police officers to do more. National Programme Manager, J4A, Dr Bob Arnot, said that such unit would be built in Enugu and northern part of the country.
The state Police Commissioner, Manko, represented by ACP Imohimi Edgal, said the police had for long desired such unit. He called on the officers and men of the force to avail themselves of the training by the unit.
The fear, however, expressed by most of the guests at the event, is the lack of maintenance culture prevalent in the police. Arnot summed it up thus: “At the end of the day, the unit will be supported and staffed by Nigerians. It is not enough to wait for the Ford Foundation.”
Despite the fear, the may also face some challenges in handling rape cases. For instance, marital rape, according to Amnesty International, is not illegal in Nigeria. So, it may still be difficult for the centre to resolve domestic violence emanating from marital rape.
Rape is very prevalent in Nigeria but underreported. A study of students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan found that in their lifetimes 1.7 per cent (2.5 per cent of males and 1.1 per cent of females) had raped and 2.7 per cent (5.3 per cent of males and 0.9 per cent of females) had attempted rape. Out of a sample of 295 female students from Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, in South-East Nigeria, 36.7 per cent had experienced sexual harassment/victimisation at least once on campus. Of this, 32.4 per cent had been raped (10.8 per cent of the sample).
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