Training of Gender and Human Rights Officers of the Nigeria Divisional Police Stations in Rivers and Bayelsa States

The training of the police took place in Bayelsa and Rivers State. The consultant started with a short history of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, 2015 and its importance to Rivers and Bayelsa States where there is prevalence of GBV. He then broke down the various enforcement responsibilities of the police embedded in the VAPP Act, 2015. This activated a lot of reactions from the trainees. Some of them queried the practicability of the Act with respect to budget. The Act has made certain provisions which must involve the upgrade of the current police budget. This has ignited different direction for advocacy. There should be an advocacy visit to the National Assembly on the review of police budget to include logistic requirements of the VAPP Act, 2015. Another discovery was the emotional and unprofessional part some police officers play with respect to rape and other sexual offences. Many police officers gave instances where teenage girls who are already sexually active, try to extort money from grown men who they had consented sex with. The consultant quickly told then that an under aged person cannot give consent and any sexual relations with such person is statutory rape. More question like this came from the police and the consultant effectively made corrections where required. At the end of the training, the participants took a post- test which showed that majority of them now understand their responsibilities with respect to the VAPP Act, 2015.