No fewer than 26 rape cases, mostly involving minors, have been recorded in Gombe State within the last four months, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has said.
The CSOs coalition, “Towards Ending Child Marriage in the State” revealed this at a roundtable meeting organised by the Save the Children International in Gombe.
The Coordinator of the coalition, Hajiya Zariyatu Abubakar, lamented that child marriage, rape and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) are on the increase in the state.
She, therefore, called for the domestication of the Child’s Right Act in the state so as to curb the menace of rape and other gender crimes.
“Records available to us showed that between March and June, about 26 rape cases were officially reported, out of which 23 cases have been charged to court while others are still under investigation,” she said.
While condemning the high rate of rape and GBV in the state, she also said the group was working towards establishing a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in the state.
The centre, she said, would provide psycho-social referral for legal support and health services for victims of rape and other forms of abuse.
