A Nigerian army personnel has assaulted a young girl on the 25th of November, 2020 which coincidentally is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women.
The assault took place at Sangotedo in Etiosa Local Government Area of Lagos State. The victim, Olaide cried out via a viral video where she complained about a soldier flogging her with ‘koboko’ because she did not greet him.
The video has attracted lots of condemnation especially from Nigerians who demand that the army personnel must be fished out and punished for committing such offense on a day that marks gender based violence.
According to the United Nation’s website:
“Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.
In general terms, it manifests itself in physical, sexual and psychological forms, encompassing:
- intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide);
- sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber- harassment);
- human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);
- female genital mutilation; and
- child marriage.
The declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women was issued by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993.
Violence against women is defined as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”
