Invictus Africa Brings Succour To SGBV Victims, Launches Survivor’s Guide

In its commitment to rid and curb trauma associated with all forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Nigeria, Invictus Africa has launched “The Survivor’s Guide”.

Invictus Africa in association with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, expressed the importance of “The Survivor’s Guide” as a practical guide for survivors of rape and other forms of sexual violence.

Invictus Africa is a Non-Governmental Organization which commits to promoting human rights and addresses inequalities affecting vulnerable and disadvantaged people (especially women and girls) through evidence-based advocacies, legal reviews, and capacity development.

Speaking at the launch in Abuja Wednesday, the Invictus Africa Executive Director, Bukky Shonibare, noted that the worst scenario in Nigeria has been not knowing what to do after being subject of SGBV.

Shonibare explained that The Survivor’s Guide, which launch coincided with the commemoration of the ongoing 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, was “developed as part of Invictus Africa’s ongoing Prevention, Accountability, Support (PAS) Project supported by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) aimed at preventing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) through capacity development, demanding accountability from duty bearers using empirical evidence, and providing support to survivors through access to relevant resources.”

She said: “The Survivor’s Guide is a no-fluff, realistic, hands-on guide created to support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as they navigate the period after sexual violence, whether in the decisions they must make immediately or the actions they may take years after.

“Through this guide, survivors will know: the relevant terms, the myths and lies around SGBV, what to do and not do if raped or sexually abused, how and where to get help, and their rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), the Violence Against Persons Prohibitions (VAPP) Act (2015), the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015), and other extant laws.

“The Survivor’s Guide accompanies the Orange Pages, which Invictus Africa launched in July, containing” contact details of over 200 SGBV responders and service providers across all States in Nigeria.

“Through these resources – Orange Pages, The Survivor’s Guide, and others that we have developed and will develop — we want to make sure that SGBV survivors are never left stranded by ensuring they have access to simple, friendly, and easy-to-use tools that can provide them with the relevant information they may need at any time.

“With The Survivor’s Guide, we hope that survivors feel supported, and that the people who are in their lives also are provided with the language to truly support them and not further, knowingly or unknowingly, contribute to their trauma.”

The guide provided such details as: Know your right as a survivor, know how and where to get help; know what to do and not do after an incident of rape or assault, knowing the lies being speculated about rape or assault, among others.

On her part, the Executive Director, Amnesty International Osai Ojigho, said the human rights body is committed to eradication of all forms of SGBV and seeing perpetrators punished.

Other Non-Governmental Organizations representatives who were at the launch include: Aderonke Bello – FAME Foundation; Kelechi Ofim – Press and Communication Officer, TechHer; and Tsema Ede – Heinrich Boll Foundation