BY JULIET EKWENUGO, KADUNA
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has urged journalists to intensify campaigns against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), warning that perpetrators are devising new tactics to exploit vulnerable persons.
The call was made during a mentoring engagement with the SGBV Media Corps in Kaduna State on Saturday, where representatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), International IDEA and media professionals discussed the role of journalism in preventing abuse, raising public awareness and strengthening accountability.
The Head of Press and Public Relations Unit of NAPTIP, Vincent Adekoye, urged journalists to go beyond reporting individual cases by engaging relevant institutions, scrutinising government policies and holding stakeholders accountable for their responses to SGBV.
He warned that perpetrators were constantly changing their methods, stressing the need for sustained media campaigns to raise public awareness and protect vulnerable persons.
Adekoye also expressed concern over reports of children being sexually exploited, including allegations that some parents facilitated the abuse of minors for financial gain.
He noted that men could also experience harassment and other forms of abuse, stressing the need to address SGBV irrespective of the victim’s gender.
The NAPTIP spokesman urged journalists to familiarise themselves with relevant laws, examine the implementation of existing policies and question stakeholders about gaps in efforts to prevent and respond to SGBV.
He also called on the media corps to intensify advocacy visits to relevant institutions, including the police, the Ministry of Women Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, to strengthen efforts to address the problem.
Adekoye commended the Kaduna SGBV Media Corps for its consistency in reporting and advocacy, saying its activities had attracted the attention of NAPTIP’s Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, OON.
The NAPTIP Kaduna State Commander, Labaran Ado Tanimu, pledged the agency’s readiness to collaborate with journalists in addressing SGBV.
Tanimu noted that media coverage could raise public awareness and encourage government institutions to strengthen their responses to cases of sexual and gender-based violence.
Earlier, the media mentor, Dr Lauratu Abdulsalam, commended the Kaduna journalists for their commitment to the project, describing their sustained engagement as encouraging.
Abdulsalam said journalists played an important role in shaping public narratives and influencing conversations about violence and the protection of vulnerable persons.
She urged the media corps to sustain its commitment and strengthen collaboration with institutions working to prevent and respond to SGBV.
