The group in a report released on Thursday, obtained by SaharaReporters, said it received and handled 450 cases of (VGWG) between January and June 2022.
A non-governmental organisation, Women Aid Collective (WACOL)/Tamar Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Tamar SARC), has decried the rising cases of violence against women and girls across the country.
The group in a report released on Thursday, obtained by SaharaReporters, said it received and handled 450 cases of (VGWG) between January and June 2022.
In a bi-annual report signed by former Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus and founder of WACOL/Tamar SARC, Professor Joy Ezilo, the group called for effective implementation of existing laws, and policies that seek to prevent and mitigate VAWG but punish perpetrators.
According to the report, the group said the 450 cases include rape, defilement, incest, domestic violence, child custody, neglect and maintenance; denial of inheritance; harmful widowhood practices, and malicious damage to properties; forceful ejections, abandonment of spouses and early/forced marriage.
According to the document, cases involving adult victims accounted for 433 while, 17 victims are minors.
Similarly, cases reported by female clients amount to 431 (representing 96%) female, while the remaining 19 incidents (representing 4%) were reported by male clients.
The reports revealed that in terms of disaggregation by age; ages between 25 and 34 featured 171 cases, followed by ages 35 to 44 with 151 cases, while 45 to 49 had 54 cases.
Also, ages 18 to 24 had 33 instances, while those above 60 years were the lowest at 18 cases. About six (6) incidents had no specific age bracket.
The statement read in part, “In terms of state-by-state data representation, the highest population emanated from Enugu State, Anambra State came second, followed by Ebonyi, Imo, and Abia states respectively.
"We equally received reports from across the state of the federation, accordingly, most female clients suffered cases relating to domestic violence, rape, defilement, incest; physical, and emotional abuses; custody, and maintenance; denial of inheritance.
"Others include harmful widowhood practices; malicious damage to property; forceful ejection, and abandonment of spouse; as well as early /forced marriage."
It further stated, “Apart from the female, the clinic also recorded a significant number of complaints from male victims who lodged complaints of mostly emotional/physical abuse, and custody battle against their spouse in the period under review.
“As it is customary in WACOL, our team of legal experts and counsellors leveraged the organisation’s mechanisms of alternative dispute resolution to resolve the majority of the civil matters leading to the settlement, and reconciliation of spouses and families in dispute.
"However few cases which failed at the arbitration were charged to court. Importantly, all criminal matters were referred to the police for arrests and prosecution.
“To further facilitate the process of prosecution of the cases, WACOL had written about 181 petitions to the Nigeria Police Force, and other relevant agencies requesting prompt prosecution of the reported incidents.
“It is gratifying to note that over 194 persons received legal aid services, 38 clients accessed psycho-social support, and three (3) persons received medical care within the period through WACOL’s interventions.
“The Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL) is a not-for-profit civil society organisation, registered in Nigeria and operating across West Africa and globally.”
"We register an average of 20 cases daily at our legal clinic, this is evidence-based and well documented. From 1998 to date, approximately 62,000 women and girls have accessed free legal aid and assistance services. We provide free legal services for women and young people in our offices across the country.
“We, therefore, solicit the support of relevant stakeholders to achieve this tough but, important task through prompt/effective reporting of incidents, prosecution, and incarceration of offenders to serve as a deterrent to others," it added.