The Salama Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Kafanchan, Kaduna State said it has recorded 3,295 cases of assault since its establishment in 2019.
Speaking at an event to commemorate the 16 Days Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the centre’s Manager, Mrs Grace Yohanna-Abin said: “In 2019, we recorded 219 cases, in 2020, we recorded 582 cases, in 2021, we recorded 1009 cases and in 2022, we recorded 788 cases.
“This year, 2023, we recorded 697 different cases of assault from January 1 to October 30, in which 612 were women and 85 were men,” she said.
Yohanna-Abin explained that 84 of the cases recorded affected children below the age of 18 while the remaining 619 were adults.
She said that the centre had recorded 49 cases of rape, with 33 cases affecting children and 16 affecting adults at the Kafanchan, Zone 3.
The centre manager said that 280 arrests were made while 38 cases were in court at the moment, adding that around 614 cases were treated outside the court.
Yohanna-Abin stated that 156 survivors benefited from free medical treatment with a forensic medical report to access intervention.
While commending the people of Kafanchan for their efforts to break the culture of silence with regards to GBV, she tasked the stakeholders to do more in preventing violence against women and children.
“On Saturday Dec. 2, we will embark on a road walk in orange attires to tell everyone to come out, invest their time and resources to prevent violence against women and girls.
“Violence can be from anyone and anytime, so we should work together to ensure that we end violence against our women and children,” she said.
NAN
