Silent Screams: ���������������Silent Screams:�The Hidden Epidemic of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in North-East Nigeria���Gloria Asuquo-Blessing �National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Nigeria�

SAY NO TO SGBV

• Background
• Methodology
• Results
• Conclusion
• Recommendations

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Presentation Outline

Over the past five years, the North-Eastern region of Nigeria has experienced continuous armed assaults, leading to a significant rise in the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Current estimate according to UNFPA Nigeria indicates that more than 2 million IDPs reside in the northeastern part of the country, either in camps or within host communities. This study aims to explore the prevalence, pattern, determinants and social norms related to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the insurgency ravaged North-Eastern parts of Nigeria.

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Background

• UN defines Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as violence committed against a person because of his or her sex or gender.
• It is forcing another person to do something against his or her will through violence, coercion, threats, deception, cultural expectations, or economic means.

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Sexual and gender-based violence

• A report from the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) reveals that there were 5,623 recorded cases of gender-based violence in Nigeria's Northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa over a four-year period, spanning from January 2018 to July 2022.
• The escalation of sexual violence against at least 6535 women and girls across the northeast has complex dimensions (UNFPA, 2018). Although it is difficult to distill the exact causes of sexual violence, even against children as young as three months old, it is possible to pinpoint several underlying factors, such as the continued indifference towards gender inequality, discrimination against women and girls, poverty, and a tolerance of gender-based violence in Northern Nigeria (Ogbe, 2020). Dislike of women is more pronounced in parts of the northeast where girls are discouraged from going to school and married off as young brides to much older men.

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Violence against Women and Girls in Nigeria

�Silence Culture��

• The silence surrounding sexual violence in Northeastern Nigeria makes it difficult to investigate and prosecute rapes in an environment of violent conflict (Imosemi, & Nzeribe, 2016).
• The shame and stigma associated with abuse and the preoccupation with preserving individual and family dignity, as well as the marriage prospects of abused girls and young women, prevents victims from reporting to the police (Ogunjimi, 2019).
• Non-reporting and non-prosecution of such abuses make it difficult to accurately assess the full extent of sexual violence across the different spaces that women occupy.

Implications of SGBV�

• For survivors, the physiological effects of SGBV include illness or even death, unwanted pregnancies that may end in death (as has occurred in at least one IDP camp in Maiduguri), and health complications like fistula. 
• Psychosocial consequences include trauma, mental illness, flashbacks and nightmares, and drug addiction. In addition, social stigma, dislocation, and rejection by communities and families can impede (hinder) survivors’ ability to function normally.

Methodology�

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This study employed a mixed-method approach using surveys, and focus groups to assess the prevalence, nature, and consequences of SGBV.

A Multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to select 4,868 participants from IDPs camp in the communities. Data analysis involved were desk review, qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Results�

Findings from the study revealed that half of the women who participated in the study were within the age of 20-39years in all the North-East states. Also, approximately one-third (7.7%) of the study participants, experienced sexual violence, while (3.7%) reported physical violence.

About three in ten individuals are faced with socioeconomic or emotional violence, and about half were subjected to harmful traditional practices. Borno State had higher (16.5%) instances of sexual and emotional violence, while the prevalence of physical violence varied significantly among states, with Borno and Yobe experiencing over a quarter of reported cases and Adamawa and Gombe having around a tenth.

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Recommendations�

The UN 8 Key Interventions to Prevent and Respond to Violence Against Women and Girls should be fully implemented in Nigeria

They are;

• Strengthening Multi-Sectoral Response Mechanisms adopting a survivor centered approach
• Advocacy on Survivor Centered Approach
• Access to information and 24x7 Services through HOTLINE/CHAT/SMS Services
• Access to Protection & Legal Services
• Access to Health & Psycho-social Services
• Focus on violence at community level
• Promote Livelihood and Economic Opportunities for GBV Survivors
• Engage and advocate with private sector

Conclusion�

This study underscores the urgent need for effective and coordinated interventions to address SGBV in North-East Nigeria.

There should be an increased collaboration among stakeholders, improved awareness and education efforts, and targeted capacity-building for local organizations.

Also, the government can address this through legal reforms and the promotion of gender equality.

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References

• UNFPA, 2018, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Assessment in North-East Nigeria.
• https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/12/13/women-in-terror-ending-gender-based-violence-in-borno-state-northeast-nigeria/
• Ogbe, Adah. (2020). The Travails of Women and Girls in Northern Nigeria: A Human Rights Issue. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3599122 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3599122
• Imosemi, A., & Nzeribe, A. (2016). Rape as a Tool of Terrorism: Exploring the Situation in Northeastern Nigeria and Scrutinizing the Legal Frameworks. International Journal of Law, 2(4), 10-21.
• Ogunjimi, A. I. (2019). Child and adolescent sexual abuse: perception of healthcare professionals in Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation, Universidade de São Paulo).

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Thank you for listening!��