FG opens sexual assault centre in Abia

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Amid surging technology-facilitated Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the Federal Government has launched a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Abia State, equipping Nigeria’s protection systems to tackle both physical and digital assaults on women and girls.

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, spotlighted the growing dangers of cyberstalking, digital coercion, online trafficking, image-based abuse, and coordinated digital harassment during the ceremony. “These emerging threats demand stronger institutional response systems that combine legal, psychosocial, medical, and digital protection mechanisms. This centre is not only relevant for today’s realities but essential for addressing evolving forms of violence confronting women and girls.”

According to a statement issued by Head, Press and Public Relations, Ahmed Lawan Danbazau, the minister, described the SARC as a “strategic and necessary intervention” providing a safe, confidential hub for medical care, psychosocial support, legal referrals, and justice services. “Today marks a major step in strengthening the protection architecture for women and girls in Nigeria,” she stated. “The establishment of this Sexual Assault Referral Centre provides a safe, confidential, and integrated platform for medical care, psychosocial support, legal referral, and justice services for survivors.”

She noted Nigeria now has 50 SARCs across 24 states, aiding over 58,134 survivors as of November 2025, but stressed the need for more to match the scale of underreported cases. “A functional SARC ensures that survivors receive confidential, survivor-centred, and integrated services under one coordinated framework,” she added, cautioning against fragmented responses that worsen trauma.

The minister linked economic empowerment programmes like the Osusu Abaala Women Palm-Oil Collective to GBV prevention. “When women are economically secure, socially organised, and institutionally supported, their exposure to exploitation, abuse, and dependency significantly declines,” she affirmed.

Under the Renewed Hope Social Development Agenda, the Federal Government is advancing policy reforms and partnerships, boosted by President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of 2026 as the Year for Social Development and Families. She thanked Abia State for its support and commended partners: “To our development partners, service providers, and frontline responders, your commitment to survivor care, justice, and rehabilitation continues to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection system. Your work restores hope, dignity, and confidence in public institutions.”

She concluded with a resolve: “Silence, stigma, and impunity must no longer define the experience of survivors. Access to justice, care, and protection must become the national standard.”

The minister envisioned the centre as a model of professionalism and compassion, ready for nationwide replication.