Foundation to create SARC centres to assist SGBV survivors
NAN
Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
Roost Foundation, a counter-trafficking, Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) organisation, says it has concluded plans to introduce Sexual Assault and Referral Centres (SARC) to assist SGBV survivors.
The Initiator of the foundation, Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, made this known at the launch of the foundation building and other facilities aimed at exposing perpetrators of SGBV in Abuja on Wednesday.
Okah-Donli, who is the immediate past Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking (NAPTIP), said that the foundation would also offer pro bono services to SGBV survivors to assist them to get justice.
She explained that while seeking for justice, the DNA of perpetrators would be traced at the SARC centres to serve as evidence in court.
The former NAPTIP boss, who is the current Chairperson, Board of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking, said that the foundation would partner with hospitals to get survivors treated.
She noted that the survivors would thereafter be trained in different skills at its centre, which would be running a regular radio programme in its studio to expose the secrets behind trafficking and SGBV.
She added that the foundation would concentrate on SGBV awareness, prevention and advocacy, which she said were the major elements that would end the scourge.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyema, who attended the launch, commended Okah-Donli for the effort, saying he had always known her as someone who had passion to seek redress for the oppressed.
Related Posts
He noted that the ex-director general worked assiduously to fight human trafficking while in NAPTIP.
He said “she was articulate in NAPTIP; good in putting structures in place and getting things work.
“Human trafficking is a cross border challenge; it is a global challenge that needs to be tackled; we have seen a lot of sacrifices in what Okah-Donli has been doing on the issue of trafficking.
“She is a champion in whatever she gets to do, she has built something that will be remembered forever, she leverages on her experience to conquer man’s inhumanity to man.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many dignitaries attended the launch of the foundation building, including Sen. Folashade Bent, many heads of parastatal agencies. (NAN)
