The bill which is being champion by Her Excellency Erelu Bisi Fayemi, the First Lady of Ekiti State will emerge to be one of its kind in Nigeria when passed into law.
The current Law which this bill is seeking to Amend was the first in Nigeria and came to existence through the effort of Her Excellency in 2011. And now with a much more bigger zeal for a better life for Ekiti people we look forward to having a law.
Some of the institutional provisions in the proposed AMENDMENT Bill includes:
- A comprehensive definition of Rape and violence. The definition section is very inclusive and clears all doubts on what constitutes rape and other violent offences.
- Establishment of a Sexual Assault Referral Centre which will be a one stop point for all sexual assault cases. The provision includes all aspect of support a victim needs to get help mentally and legally.
- The sex offender register is now incorporated into the bill
- The establishment of a Gender Court
- The bill provides for Protection Officers at all the local govt.
- The bill reinforced the role of the GBV Committee. Their functions and implementation methods.
- The bill provide for award of emergency monetary relief for victims to be paid by the perpetrators.
Before now, the Office of Her Excellency had embarked on this in the last one year by paying for the medical expenses of victims and ensuring that young girls who are victims of rape are enrolled back in schools. Her concerns are centered around a support system for the victims after the sad events.
Just to mention a few institutional provisions in the bill.
Tomorrow, Her Excellency will be leading over 3000 women to the Ekiti State House of Assembly tomorrow to support and defend the bill which she had nurtured and now delivered to the people of Ekiti State. We invite you to lend a voice to this bill.
Oluwaseyi Ojo
Special Assistant
On Gender and Vulnerable Persons to
Her Excellency.