The manager, a medical doctor said the centre was inaugurated on Sept. 17, 2019 to help to address incidents of sexual assault in the state. “We offer free medical, counseling and legal services to all victims that come to our centre.
“The cases we have treated here have been so pathetic; a 4-year old girl, molested by 60-year-old man; and five boys, raped by a man as well as so many others.’’
She commended the state government for partnering the European Union (EU) through the Rule of Law and Anti Corruption (ROLAC) in establishing the Referral Centre.
She explained that the referral facility was established by ROLAC in five focal states — Adamawa, Anambra, Edo, Kano and Lagos. “It focuses on ensuring that women and children have access to justice in the face of sexual molestations’’.
Uchendu noted that most of the victims were from poor backgrounds and that perpetrators took advantage of them, believing that no one could speak for them.
She urged the state government to provide more funding and shelter for the centre to take care of the needs of victims that visit the facility.
According to her, the centre can only provide services within its powers; an example is a recommendation of specialists to the 4-year-old child molested and her urinary organ badly damaged.
“The child was given drugs but needed further treatment to repair her urinary organ, but the centre cannot afford the cost of such treatment.
“The centre offers free services to victims but we have realised that most people that have reported here do not have money for treatment; on several occasions I give out my money for their transportation back home.
“The perpetrators threaten their lives if they complain to us, but if we have shelter we can keep them until their cases are over,” she said.
Uchendu called on donors, who promise to assist in the treatment of some of the victims, especially Women Aid Collective, (WACOL) an NGO that visit the centre to come over and fulfill their promises.
She urged all mothers and guardians to keep their eyes on their children, and never leave them in the hands of strangers or those they did not trust.
She also called on people of the state to report rape cases and other forms of sexual assault on persons to the facility for proper follow up and perpetrators punished according to the law.