State Gender Response Initiative on Tuesday staged a peaceful walk against the increasing cases of rape and gender-based violence in the state.
Clad in black, the women marched from the popular Ekeki Park to the complex of the State House of Assembly, demanding that the state legislators pass into law the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (2015).
The women groups were led by the Chairperson of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Maria Olodi-Osumah.
Maria Olodi-Osumah told the members of the State House of Assembly that the incidence of violence against women had increased alarmingly with over 58 cases recorded recently including the rape of a 13-years-old girl in the state capital.
She said the state needed a proactive State House of Assembly, noting that the domestication of the VAPP bill would curb the rising cases of rape and violence against women.
Also speaking, the Chairperson of Nigeria Bar Association, Sagbama Branch, Dise Ogbise, said the women groups decided to stage a peaceful walk to draw attention to the problem.
Receiving the women activists at the state Assembly complex, the Chief Whip, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, assured the women of the lawmakers’ determination to pass the bill.
The Chairman of the State Assembly Committee on Gender and Social Development, Naomi Ogoli and Chief Eregha Brigidi took turns to condemn the rising cases of rape in the country.
