A multi-million naira trust fund to fight gender-based violence (GBV) has been launched by a Nigerian international nongovernmental organisation, Jose Foundation.

In a press statement signed by President of the Jose Foundation, Martins Abhulimhen, it was disclosed that the trust fund became necessary to address the rising cases of gender-based violence across the country by providing guards against GBV.

He said the trust fund will create a “Centre of Expertise” that will bring together cyber sleuths, detectives and academics to tackle the scourge of sexual abuse in Nigeria.

According to him, Jose Foundation is determined to bring child abusers to justice through the instrumentality of the justice system supported by the trust fund.

He noted that under the trust fund, teachers, social workers and the police will be retrained on how to identify victims of child sexual exploitation.

Abhulimhen said children and the vulnerable should be able to grow up “free from the horrors of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking,” even as he described the current situation in Nigeria as appalling and heart-breaking.

He stressed that the measures being put in place by Jose Foundation would further improve its ability to protect children and the vulnerable as the organisation is determined to bring those that would try to steal their childhood to justice, no matter how long it takes.

The trust fund, Abhulimhen said, would afford children and women who have been victims of sexual abuse or exploitation, access to a complete range of support services from dedicated experts under one roof.

The fund will also offer medical, investigative and emotional support in one place, removing the need for young victims in Nigeria to go through the trauma of repeating their statements several times to different agencies.

This multi-agency approach, according to Jose Foundation, will help gather better evidence and increase the speed of its delivery to court, as well as offer longer term support to victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system of Nigeria.

“In Nigeria, there is a grand conspiracy to silence victims of gender-based violence by the offenders and family members in the name of protecting family name and avoiding discrimination.

“Those who report abuse face multiple interviews with social workers, the police and medical professionals in different settings, and a long wait to go to trial.

“Many cases do not have sufficient evidence to reach the prosecution stage, and often, families are left to navigate the complex health system by themselves, in order to seek support from local police, mental health services or local charities,” Abhulimhen said.