Survivors of rape, incest drag FG to court over medical care
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By Innocent Anaba
Survivors of rape and incest have dragged the Federal Government before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, challenging the government’s failure to provide comprehensive medical care as guaranteed under Nigerian and international law.
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The survivors are seeking justice and enforcement of their constitutional and human rights after experiencing sexual violence that resulted in unwanted pregnancies.
The plaintiffs led by Prof. Yemi Oke, SAN, and Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, are seeks judicial recognition and enforcement of survivors’ right to necessary medical services, including access to safe termination of pregnancy where rape or incest has resulted in pregnancy.
The matter suit before Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa, comes up Thursday, for mention.
The plaintiffs include one survivor, sexually abused by her father, suffered an unsafe abortion without proper medical care or state support, another survivor, a university student raped while incapacitated, was left without government-provided medical or psychological assistance.
The plaintiffs are coming forward not just for justice, but to prevent other girls and women from going through the same trauma without institutional protection.
The survivors argue that the Nigerian government has violated their constitutional duty and international obligations by failing to ensure comprehensive medical services for citizens.
“I did not choose violence. I did not choose the trauma that changed my life. But I choose to fight so no other girl or woman is abandoned by the system that is meant to protect us,” said one survivor.
“What happened to me was already painful. Being denied medical help made it worse.
“Survivors deserve care, respect, and choices, not silence and suffering,” another survivor added.
They rely on protections under: Sections 33, 34, and 35 of the 1999 Constitution (Right to life, dignity, liberty) African Charter on Human & Peoples’ Rights Maputo Protocol Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 (Sections 1 & 38).
These laws affirm government obligations to provide comprehensive medical care, including reproductive health services, to victims of sexual violence.
“I survived the rape. I survived the shame. But I should not have to survive government neglect too.
“No one should be forced to carry trauma in their body when the law says we deserve care,” one of the plaintiffs said.
“I am speaking up so that other girls do not suffer in secret. We deserve to heal. We deserve safety. We deserve to be treated like human beings, not forgotten,” yet another survivor stressed.
The survivors are asking the court to declare that: “Victims of rape and incest have a guaranteed and enforceable right to safe termination of pregnancy resulting from sexual violence.
“Government has a legal duty to provide comprehensive medical care, including emergency medical treatment, psychological support, and reproductive health services.
“Comprehensive medical assistance under the VAPP Act legally includes information and access to medical abortion services for survivors.”
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