▪︎Advocates community engagement to end rising rape among displaced girls
From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Sexual Offences Awareness and Response (SOAR) Initiative and partners in Benue State have advocated for the engagement of community members in fight against Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) especially rape of adolescent girls in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and conflict affected communities in the state.
This position was made at the End of the Project Dissemination and Lesson Learned Meeting for the “Mobilizing Communities in Emergencies to End Sexual Violence Against Girls,” a project funded by the African Women Development Fund (AWDF) and implemented by SOAR Initiative in Uikpam, Guma Local Government Area (LGA) and Anyiin and Ugba IDP Camps in Logo LGA and host Communities, Benue State.
The project, which commenced August 2022 to July 2025, was aimed at improving safety and support for displaced girls against SGBV through community-led structures and empowerment.
The project targeted adolescent girls from 10–18 years, mothers and women leaders, community/camp leaders including men and boys, as well as female mentors and volunteers
According to the project officer, Mr. Orseer Achimba, during implementation, SOAR mobilized communities through dialogues, town halls, and sensitization rallies, build their skills, and confidence, established Camp/Community Child Protection Committees (CCPCs) for case reporting and response which ere also registered as Cooperatives/Associations for sustainability.
He said from zero to fully operational committees in all 3 locations, the CCPC handled over 10 reported cases of SGBV, including a case of gang rape in the Uikpam community.
At the end of the project, he said SOAR exceeded all set targets by training of 1,544 girls and mothers, engaged 489 men and 55 stakeholder, including security agencies and traditional leaders, as allies in SGBV prevention.
Welcoming participantsto the meeting, the Executive Director SOAR Initiative Mrs Chinyere Eyoh, who emphasized the project’s community-driven approach and sustainable impact on child protection mechanisms across the state, said issues regarding protecting of children particularly those in the conflict situation area was at the front burner.
She said there was a need to protect them from all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and particularly from sexual violence.
She appreciate the Benue SEMA for giving them access to work in the various camps in the state hoping that from the meeting SEMA would adopt procedures on how to proceed and scale up the work they want to do.
She also appreciated the community members from Anyiin and Ugba in Logo LGA for agreeing to work with them and also sustaining the structures established to curtail SGBV in their communities.
According to her, SOAR, in five years, went from one camp to another establishing structures that ensured protection of children from issues of sexual violence and child marriages while also addressing socio cultural norms.
These strategies, she said, worked in other places as a strategy like Abuja, “we have seen successes and we have learnt to partner with communities to find out what they need in order to help protect their children and what we did was to work with them to come out with home grown solutions.
“There is a need to scale up the work into other camps and communities to see that children are protected. While the government is setting up camps and shelters for displaced people, scale up child protection structures like Community or Camp Based Child Protection Offices for the sake of the children,” she added.
Speaking, the Coordinator Benue State Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Linda Dirisu lamented rising rape cases in Benue State harping on the need to save the girl child.
Dirisu however stated tha SARC in Benue state is very operational explaining that “we are taking in survivors, carrying out community sensitization especially at the IDP camps and also attending to survivors from the IDPs and also working on their mental health.
“This the first time we are having a centre in Benue State that is concerned about GBV, vulnerable women and adolescent girls and concerned about boys and rape in particular. The governor has made it a point of duty to ensure it’s functional. The fight against GBV is not one person’s fight but a collective fight. All hands must be on Deck working tirelessly to ensure that gbv and rape in particular is brought under control. It’s alarming.
“From my experience in the field, the way our adolescent girls are being raped is scary. I have a case form Obi LGA where a full-grown man went into the ceiling in the night and raped a 12 year old girl. Why would a man pass through the rigours of going up the ceiling just to rape a 12 year old. It’s a serious issue. Except you have been abused before, you don’t know the level of damage victims go through.”
She urged survivors to speak out and report those cases to the centre for prompt action while also urging the state government to fund the centre adequately to enable it to carry out its activities.
The Officer heading Gender Unit at the Benue state Police Command, CSP Ann Ameh who acknowledged that cases of rape is becoming alarming in the state disclosed that “Recently we handled a case of an 11 year old boy who raped a five year old. When they say rape of girls are on the rise, it’s a fact.”
She, however, stated that they are working hard to ensure that rape cases are stopped and where it occurs. They give the best services that victims deserve as well as ensure a diligent prosecution against the perpetrators. She also called for collaboration among all stakeholders to properly fight SGBV in the state.
During the lessons learned session using the After Action Review methodology, facilitated by the project consultant Mr. Nathaniel Awuapila, participants identified key challenges that emerged during implementation including community leader interference in legal proceedings, and financial constraints affecting the arrest of perpetrators, cultural resistance, traditional beliefs about early marriage among other urging all stakeholders to do their beat to do away with all forms of challenges affecting the girl child.
The meeting generated concrete recommendations for sustaining and expanding the initiative’s impact including Government partnership, increment of child protection budget allocation, scaling up to expand CCPCs to all IDP camps across Benue State by institutions like SEMA as well as enhanced coordination plans for improved stakeholder coordination involving NAPTIP, police, and other security agencies.
