The team was in NHRC office to seek collaboration in order to ensure access to justice for the vulnerable group, particularly widows and the female sex workers
National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has promised to work in partnership with an NGO, Concerned Women International Development Initiative, CWIDI, to fight inequality, access to justice for survivors of gender- based violence particularly female sex workers and widows in the society.
The Commission also assured the public that it will continue to champion the course of protecting the rights of the most vulnerable in the society as part of its mandate to all citizens of the country.
Acting coordinator of the Commission in Benue State, David Adzenda, gave the assurance yesterday in Makurdi, when he received a delegation from the Concerned Women International Development Initiative, CWIDI who were in the office to seek collaboration on access to justice and gender- based violence, particularly melted against widows and female sex workers, FSWs.
He said investigations have shown that those who are strong financially know and follow their own ways of settling disputes while the most vulnerable suffer injustice, stressing that the Commission has decided to beam its lights with concerned on the most vulnerable in the society to protect their rights.
The Acting state coordinator NHRC in Benue State, stated that because of the commission’s concerned for the vulnerable class including widows and the female sex workers, FSWs, it has designed a 16-day activism programme at the end of each year, adding that during the period, cases of gender-based violence are brought under focus.
He noted that during the period the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, in collaboration with other groups such as non governmental organizations like CWIDI and Government is fostered to ensure that the vulnerable have access to their rights and justice to enjoy freedom.
Adzenda who said human rights issues should be every body’s business, emphasized the need for people to watch each other’s back, assuring that the Commission is ready to extend its hand of cooperation to all including CWIDI to ensure that everyone including the most vulnerable category such as widows and female sex workers, FSWs live in a society that is free of violence where everyone would enjoy his or her human rights.
In their separate presentations, senior programme officer CWIDI Benue State, Becky Gbihi, said the team was in NHRC office to seek collaboration in order to ensure access to justice for the vulnerable group, particularly widows and the female sex workers, FSWs.
She said non- profit organization dedicated to promoting gender equality, preventing gender-based violence, ensuring full and equitable participation of women in decision- making, achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health for young people among others, through investigation has found out that widows and female sex workers, FSWs, because of their condition in most cases suffer violence in silence.
She said because of stigmatization widows fail to seek justice against harmful cultural practices for fear of not contending with kinsmen of their late husband’s, while female sex workers, on the other hand because of the nature of their business are most cases maltreated and harassed by the clients but they either feel ashamed or scaled to report to appropriate authority, adding that CWIDI is seriously against these type of practices and considered it a violation of fundamental human rights of such citizens.
On her part the programme management specialist, Precious Ifan, stated that CWIDI through advocacy has encouraged women who suffer violence to run to the police to report, adding that the organization has equally trained widows and female sex workers to know their rights as citizens.
She said they have taken advocacy to the police informing them on the need to allow women particularly widows and female sex workers who suffer violence to report without stigmatization, adding that the team has also sought to know how such cases were handled in the past and suggested better approaches.
Ifan expressed optimism that as custodians of human rights, the collaboration would help CWIDI realize it mandate for the most vulnerable category of people in the society.