The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi has vowed that the state will henceforth become tougher for perpetrators of rape and other sexual related violence.
Fayemi who lamented the alarming rate of violence against children and women, said his administration would not relent its efforts to curb the hydra-headed scourge in the state.
The governor stated this in Ado-Ekiti on Monday while receiving the annual report on the management of gender based violence and the State GBV Strategic Plan, said the state is set to further take more decisive steps by enforcing stiffer penalties against violators of the existing GBV laws.
He said his administration’s commitment to combat gender based violence is a clear demonstration of his government’s resolve to restore Ekiti core values and cultures.
Fayemi promised that the government would continue to provide the needed institutional and other forms of support for fight against GBV since the barbaric practice was alien to the values of Ekiti people.
The governor said the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), which he chairs, had also taken a firm stand against sexual violence and abuse, a development which said culminated in declaration of a state of emergency on Gender Based Violence in all states.
Earlier, the First lady and chairperson of the GBV management committee, Erelu Bisi Fayemi revealed that the state government has provided succour for no fewer than 133 survivors of GBV between December 2018 till date.
Mrs Fayemi said that the Committee which was reconstituted in July 2019, has been able to facilitate the provision of several legal frameworks to protect GBV survivors, including the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Sexually Abused Minors Law 2020.
She added that the Committee, through the Office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, activated the 2013 Sex Offender Register with the “name and shame policy” which provides for the publication of the names and photographs of convicted sex offenders in public places.
As reported by The Nation.