A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Delta State has called on the state government to adopt a gender-responsive budgeting framework to address rising cases of violence against women and children.
The coalition stated that implementing such a budget would ensure financial, material, and technical resources are strategically allocated to meet the specific needs of survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
The organisations include Women Advocate Research and Development Centre (WARDC), Development Initiative for Community Impact (DICI), NEFEROK Development Initiative (NEDI), Working Fingers International Initiatives (WOFFI), and Concern for Peace and Society Survival (COPASS). Others are the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), EndyBekx Initiatives for Children and Women Development (EICWD), Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Victoria Jarikre Foundation (VJF), and Family Centre Initiative for Challenged Persons (FACICP).
At a press conference in Warri, Rachael Misan-Rukppee, spokesperson for the coalition and Coordinator of the Working Group for the Implementation of Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, urged the Delta State Government to prioritize gender-based issues in the 2025 budget.
Misan-Rukppee, also the Executive Director of DICI, emphasized that the framework should integrate gender perspectives in planning, resource allocation, implementation, and impact assessment. She was joined by Otorme Victoria Jarikre, Executive Director of NEDI, and Ezon-Ebi Odumosu, a member of NAWOJ.
“We appeal to the Delta House of Assembly to increase the budget allocation for SGBV prevention and response. The fight against SGBV is a fight for human rights, dignity, and justice. Collaboration across all sectors is critical to ending violence against women and children,” Misan-Rukppee said.
She noted that globally, violence against women and girls has significant economic consequences. While the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015 and the Delta VAPP Law 2020 were crucial legal milestones, their impact has been undermined by poor implementation, insufficient enforcement, and inadequate funding.
Highlighting statistics, Misan-Rukppee revealed that between January 2020 and July 2022, Nigeria recorded 7,349 cases of SGBV, with Delta State accounting for 800 cases. She stressed the need for effective resource allocation to improve implementation and enforcement mechanisms to tackle the rising cases of gender-based violence.
