The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), has sought the Benue State Government’s collaboration to establish a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in the state.
The agencies say the initiative would strengthen support services for survivors of sexual violence.
Mrs Roseline Abore, Assistant Director of NAPTIP, made the request during an advocacy and facility assessment visit to the Benue State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare in Makurdi.
Abore said the proposed centre would provide coordinated services for survivors while strengthening the state’s response to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and trafficking in persons.
Also speaking, Mr Langyi Selbol, ICMPD project officer, said the assessment was being conducted in Gwagwalada, Abuja, and Makurdi to evaluate existing facilities, engage stakeholders and generate recommendations to guide the next phase of implementation.
Selbol said the initiative, under the NAPTIP-ICMPD partnership, aims to establish one-stop centres where survivors of sexual violence and victims of human trafficking can access medical, psychosocial, legal and other essential support services.
An ICMPD expert, Dr Grace Dafiel, said stakeholders, including lawyers, social workers and healthcare personnel, would receive specialised training after the state provides suitable space for the centre.
Dafiel added that the assessment was guided by the provisions of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law and would evaluate the state’s readiness, including the availability of a SARC coordinator, referral directory, policy framework, infrastructure and trained personnel.
Dafiel urged the ministry to nominate a focal person to coordinate the project at the community and local government levels, adding that implementation would be driven through national and state steering committees as well as an operational committee.
She said each project location would have a unique Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), while assessments would also cover accessibility, gender and disability inclusion, existing systems and available manpower.
According to her, the team would engage the Ministry of Health, organisations of persons with disabilities and other stakeholders to ensure effective implementation.
Responding, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Theresa Ikwue, commended NAPTIP and ICMPD for the initiative and assured them of the ministry’s commitment to the project.
Ikwue, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Martha Edo, said tackling sexual and gender-based violence requires collective action, noting that the ministry remains committed to protecting women, children and persons with disabilities.
She described the project’s capacity-building component as critical to improving service delivery.
Earlier, the Director of social welfare, Mrs. Eunice Tachia, identified inadequate working tools and limited office facilities as major challenges affecting effective coordination of social welfare services.
The Director of Women Affairs, Mrs Magdalene Andor, said the ministry was already collaborating with International IDEA and UNFPA on plans to establish a sexual assault referral centre in the state.
Andor said stakeholders had been mobilised, relevant personnel identified and provisions for SARC incorporated into the ongoing review of the VAPP Law, while efforts to harmonise the Child Rights Law and the Penal Code were also in progress.
She expressed optimism that sexual assault referral centres would eventually be established across the three senatorial districts of Benue.
In his contribution, Mr Paul Amokaha, a principal social welfare officer, advocated a mentorship programme to complement capacity-building efforts for personnel who would manage the centres.
