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| UNICEF Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique and the Medical Director of the Gombe State Specialist Hospital, Dr. Sambo Dawa, during the visit of the proposed Sexual Abuse Reference Centre (SARC) in Gombe. |
By Williams Ago, Gombe
All is set for the establishment of a Sexual Abuse Reference Centre (SARC) in the premises of the Gombe State Specialist Hospital.
First of its kind in the State, the centre, when fully operational by the end of May 2025, is expected to bring succour, rehabilitate and seek justice for survivors of gender based violence especially, children and women.
Inspecting the proposed facility, the Chief of Field Office, Bauchi Field Office of UNICEF, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, in company of the Medical Director of the Gombe State Specialist Hospital, Dr. Sambo Dawa, as well as some major stakeholders, called for more awareness on the existence of the centre expected to address the rising cases of GBV on children and women in the State.
Gender based violence, particularly the rape of minors, has been on the increase in Gombe State with many perpetrators getting away after infringing on the fundamental human rights of their victims because of weak legal means of arresting and prosecuting offenders.
Even with the existence of the child rights act fully adopted in the State, reported cases continue to soar amidst the culture of silence from survivors and their parents because of stigmatisation.
However, during the UNICEF Chief visit, Dr Nuzhat described the establishment of the SARC as a highly commendable development that will bring a sigh of relief, thus creating a healthy society for children and women.
She explained that the rehabilitation centre is intended to be a place where victims will come and have their treatment, emergency response and later on have a complete healing process that will involve the support of some major stakeholders.
Dr. Nuzhat stated that "UNICEF is going to support in establishing the centre in collaboration with the State government and then we will have the community awareness raised to a level that all the cases can be referred to this centre and get immediate support.
"Either they are children or adult women or anybody else who is facing domestic abuse, GBV, violence against children, which is a crime and the violation of the basic rights of children and women.”
She expressed gratitude to the Medical Director of the State Specialist Hospital whom she said had shown interest and commitment towards the take-off of the centre and make it operational.
Dr. Nuzhat disclosed that before the take-of of the centre, there is going to be capacity building and training for workers on how to preserve evidence, how to report, how to make tests which can be used for legal action against perpetrators.
On his part, the medical director of the Gombe State Specialist Hospital, Dr. Sambo Dawa, assured that every form of clinical activity to treat or manage survivors of GBV will be done in the Centre.
"It is going to be like a stakeholders activity so that justice system and others will be involved. Survivors will be given psychosocial support to ensure that they get back and reintegrate into the society.
"It's a system where everyone will be involved so that we raise healthy children and women. We'll work with UNICEF, the State government to ensure that this happens.
"There are things that the clinician will need to do and that will need much training from UNICEF in other to establish that assault has taken place, physical or whatever form of assault in any part of the body.
"The team members, the clinicians will be trained on how to establish that as well as other laboratory investigations like how to actually get a discharge being deposited on a surveyor, how to get it without being altered and so on and so forth", Dr Dawa emphasized.
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