Today, people around the world would be participating in a virtual observance of the International Day of Peace. This year’s theme “Shaping Peace Together” calls for everyone to join hands to fight not one another, but #COVID19 currently impacting the world.

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However, we cannot truly experience peace as long as girls and women are being subjected to the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence, as highlighted by @UNWomen.

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The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Cyprus, Australia, India and a host of other countries recorded a rise in domestic violence and requests for emergency rescue & shelter.

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In Nigeria, 717 rape cases were reported in police stations between January 2020 and May 2020. Violence against girls and women in Nigeria escalated to the extent that a state of emergency on gender-based violence against girls and women was declared across the country.

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Gender-based violence contravenes women’s rights to safety and freedom from inhuman treatment as clearly defined in Article 3 and 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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We call on governments to enforce laws that protect girls and women whose rights have been violated as stated in Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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Such laws are Nigeria’s Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015  which states a person convicted of rape is liable to life imprisonment & India’s Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018 that stipulates death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12

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We cannot overemphasize the need for sexual assault response services to be classified as essential service, especially in crises situations. Survivors need a safe place to run to where they can find peace and access services needed to help them navigate their situations.

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Ultimately, we encourage that you commemorate the international day of peace by spreading compassion, kindness and hope to sexual abuse survivors in the midst of the #COVID19 pandemic.

This post is brought to you by @Tsolayemi07.

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@UN_Women