Institutional Assessment of Kaduna State Sexual Assault Referral Centre
The Kaduna state government has made some efforts to put in place a Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SBGV) response system. This includes creating four Sexual Assault and Referral Centers (SARC) in the senatorial zones of the state and collaborating with Education as a Vaccine (EVA) on the State VAWG Observatory. The State Ministry of Women Affairs had included medical and psychosocial support to survivors of violence in 2016 budget. The government is also working on its own Violence Against Persons Prohibition bill. Although the SGBV system exists, it is not yet functioning at the optimum level due to inadequate capacity and lack of coordination amongst the agencies. Its use by communities is limited due to the low level of awareness; social stigma and culture of silence around SGBV issues.
The Advancing Rights of Adolescent Girls and Young Women project was designed to address these challenges. The project is a multi-dimensional initiative developed to uphold the rights of young women and girls to be free from SGBV. Implemented at community and state level, it challenged harmful social norms held by community actors, strengthened the agency and social capital of adolescent girls and young women, with an emphasis on girls with disabilities and affected by the AIDS epidemic through safe spaces, and improve state-level SGBV report and response systems. To achieve the outcome “Improved SGBV response system at State, Local Government and Community level to meet the needs of adolescent girls and young women,” Education as a Vaccine (EVA) conducted an institutional assessment of the SARCs established by the government.
The assessment will provide critical information to inform the development of a capacity building and a marketing/strategic communication plan for GBV services within the state. Download here