1.1m women displaced by Boko Haram insurgency, others in Nigeria – Group

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Center for Reproductive Rights and Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) said on Saturday at least 1.17 million women have been displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency and other social strifes in the country.

Out of this figure, 510, 555 are girls of reproductive age, the centre said.

There are currently 2.2 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria.

in a report titled: “The Conflict in North-East Nigeria and Its Impact on the Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Women and Girls,” LEDAP noted that sexual exploitation, HIV transmissions, inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health services, maternal deaths, and injuries were among the impacts of the conflict on women and girls in the country.

It added that demands for transactional sex to access food and non-food items are commonplace, while inadequate assistance to the IDPs in host communities and camps had largely exacerbated the violations.

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LEDAP also discovered grave challenges that continued to take an unbearable toll on women and girls in conflict zones and listed inadequate access to sexual reproductive health services including contraceptives, which lead to unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortion as few examples.

The Senior Counsel for Africa, Center for Reproductive Rights, Onyema Afulukwe, who spoke on the matter, decried the abuse of women in conflict zones.

He said: “Sadly, women and girls who have experienced reproductive health and rights violations due to the conflict have no meaningful access to justice because of weak accountability mechanisms in conflict zones.

“Although human rights protections are guaranteed by national, regional, and international laws in which Nigeria is a signatory, the government must now prioritize legal and institutional mechanisms for addressing these violations.”

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