Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, (NAPTIP), Professor Fatima Waziri-Azi, has stressed the importance of training and retraining gender desk officers of the Nigeria police to enable them effectively handle cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, (SGBV).
She made this known at a three-day knowledge-building workshop for Gender Desk Officers and Police Prosecutors organized by the agency in collaboration with Ford Foundation and the Justice Research Institute, (JRI) in Abuja.
She said “Investing in comprehensive training for police officers on handling SGBV cases is essential for promoting accountability, preventing further victimization, and advancing justice for victims.
“As the implementing agency for the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, (VAPPA), 2015 in the FCT, NAPTIP has been collaborating and would continue to collaborate with the Nigeria Police to ensure that incidences of domestic and sexual violence are reduced in the FCT.”
She said the police need a broad understanding of issues around SGBV for successful prosecution.
“Police officers especially gender desk officers need continuous training to understand relevant laws, protocols, and investigative techniques to gather evidence, conduct interviews, and handle the legal aspects of SGBV cases effectively.”
She explained that the training is aimed at enhancing the strategic efforts of the police gender desk officers and prosecutors in the prevention of, response to and prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence cases in the FCT.
She recalled that in May 2022, NAPTIP and JRI conducted an intensive 10-day residential training of 40 gender desk officers from the 36 states and the FCT., noting that the training focused on steps in responding to SGBV cases, investigation, communication techniques for successful handling of SGBV cases, and data collection and management.
Executive Director, JRI, Mr Ikem Isiekwena, said: “The project is to strengthen the capacity of the Nigeria police force and FCT sexual and gender-gender-based violence response team to effectively respond to violence against women and girls in Nigeria, commenced in 2021 with support from Ford Foundation.
“This training is one of the outcomes of the project targeted at strengthening the capacity of police to effectively respond to violence against women and girls.”
He continues, “The training would help police officers adopt a victim-centered approach, focusing on the needs and well-being of victims. This approach prioritizes the safety, dignity, and rights of survivors throughout the investigation and legal process.”
Resources developed by the project were formally presented and they include: training manual on preventing, responding and prosecuting SGBV Cases, Standard Operating Procedure, (SOP), on Preventing, Responding to, and Prosecuting SGBV cases and a demonstration and handing over of the e-training Portal for SGBV Courses.
