GBV: Nurses, midwives seek establishment of forensic labs across the country

The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), FCT Council, has called for the establishment of forensic laboratories across the country to support the prosecution of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases.

The call is in a statement signed by the association’s Chairperson, Deborah Yusufu in Abuja on Wednesday,
as the world marks 2021 International Day of the Midwife (IDM).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IDM is annually marked on May 5 around the globe
to highlight the important roles nurses and midwives play in national development.

It is also a day to highlight key issues affecting the health workforce. This year’s
international day of the midwife focuses on rising spate of violence against
women and girls in Nigeria.

The FCT chapter of the association, therefore, issued a six-point “call to action” statement, condemned all acts of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and called for concerted efforts to end it.

The association noted that establishing forensic labs in geopolitical zones was critical to detecting and prosecuting GBV perpetrators.

The demands read: “we call for the establishment of at least one forensic lab in each geopolitical zone in the country to support the prosecution of Gender Based Violence.

“We call on all states yet to adopt the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act and
Child Rights Act (CRA) to do so to protect our women and girls.

“Beyond the adoption of the laws, we need to strengthen law enforcement and areness of the law around Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria. Everyone should understand that violence against women and girls is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated.

“We call on all states to put in place a sex offenders register to name and shame perpetrators and end the impunity around Gender-based Violence.”

The association also called on state governments to establish and fund at least one Gender-
Based Violence response centre and shelter with government-paid staff deployed and with effective linkages to other support services that survivors may need.

It urged the National Council on Health to declare free medical care for survivors of sexual
assault and assign a focal point for GBV in each health facility in the country.