The Honorable Minister of Women Affairs Dame Pauline Tallen OFR, KSG has described issues of violence against children as having taken a very serious dimension that requires a coordinated approach.
The Minister stated this while inaugurating the Task Force Committee on Case Management on Thursday, 3rd November, 2021 at Envoy Hotel, Diplomatic Drive, Central Business District, Abuja.
The Honourable Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Olufunsho Adebiyi reminded her audience that the immediate past Technical Working Group on Ending Violence against Children was constituted by her Ministry in 2014 with membership drawn from representatives of key government institutions, civil society entities which include legal aid providers, non-governmental organizations and religious groups.
The reconstitution of the TWG in 2021 the Honourable Minister disclosed was to bring new members with new ideas and strategies to deal with the rising incidences of violence against children in Nigeria particularly with the challenges brought up by COVID-19 pandemic.
While congratulating the selected members of the Task Force on Case Management, she charged them to know that their selection is another great opportunity to contribute their quota and render services to humanity in line with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs’ mandate as a social service provider.
The Minister stated that peer-pressure, poor quality education, indiscipline, non-political will, loss of family value, conflict, depression amongst others, are some of the social vices that contribute to child abuse and violence against children and urge parents to take care of their wards.
She further charged that a particular set of competencies and interpersonal skills that require knowledge and deep understanding of the case management process and the standard sets by social work ethics like: Emotional Intelligence, Knowledge of God’s Principles, Guardian and Counseling, Enforcement Mechanism amongst others.
The Committee which stakeholders were drawn from different relevant Ministries, Departments and agencies are to serve as members of the taskforce on case management in Nigeria.
They include Federal Ministry of Women Affairs; Humanitarians Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; Federal Ministry of Health; Federal Ministry of Education; Federal Ministry of Justice; International Office of Migration (IOM); Action Aid; Save the Children; Plan International; International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC); Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (ROLAC); International Labour Organization (ILO); and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The others are the Save Our Soul (SOS) Children Villages; United States Agency for International Development (USAID); National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP); International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA); Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); FCT Social Development Secretariat; Ceceyara Foundation; Lola; AOON; Catholic Relief Services; United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and Mirabel Centre.
The Minister assured the Taskforce Committee that they will be given much needed support by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to enable it achieve desired goals and called on UNICEF to support the Ministry to build the capacities of members of the Technical Working Groups (TWG) on Ending Violence against Children, most especially thcx7e Task Force on Case Management.