The Civil Society Organisations Network Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), in Zamfara State, has expressed concern over the rising cases of GBV from 300 to 600 in the first quarter of 2024 and blamed the surge on the lack of implementation of the Violence Against Person Prohibition (VAPP) law and the trial of perpetrators in the state.

The CSO network made this known during their quarterly review meeting in Gusau, the State Capital.

They called on the Zamfara State Government to establish the GBV survivors trust fund to support victims coping with the trauma and fighting the perpetrators.

Also, they noted a compelling need to intensify awareness creation and strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to effectively and efficiently combat the menace, even as they also called on the Zamfara State Government to set up a mobile court to deal with the GBV issues and implement the relevant laws.

Chairman of the Network, Dr. Hashim Ahmed, identified insecurity as one of the factors responsible for the increase in the number of cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and harped on the strong commitment of stakeholders in fighting the scourge in Zamfara.

The Executive Director of Voluntary Aid Initiative (VAI), Musa Umar, and the State Coordinator, of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Abdullahi Abubakar, said that internally displaced persons (IDPs) are the most vulnerable to GBV, noting that there is tremendous improvement in the prosecution of perpetrators.

The network called on the private sector, to key into the fight against GBV through funding to stem the menace, and urged development partners like International Alert to do more to build the capacity of the stakeholders, to improve the fight and prosecute cases of GBV in Zamfara State.