Oyo State SGBV Prevention, Response and Survivors' Economic Empowerment Trust Fund Bill

POLICY TITLE: Oyo State SGBV Prevention, Response and Survivors' Economic Empowerment Trust Fund Bill

THEME: Gender Justice / Sustainable Financing / Human Capital Development

1. THE PROBLEM:

Oyo State has domesticated progressive laws including the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law and Child Rights Law. However, implementation remains donor-driven and unsustainable.

From my 8 years working on SGBV prevention and response, I have seen 3 critical gaps in Oyo State:

a) The Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Oyo State is currently inactive and shelters struggle with funding, consumables, and sustained psychosocial and legal support.

b) Over 70% of survivors who want to leave abusive environments return to the same environment due to economic dependence. We rescue without sustainable reintegration.

c) There is no statutory, transparent funding mechanism for SGBV in the state budget. Allocations are ad-hoc, making citizen tracking and accountability difficult.

We have good laws, but no sustainable financing framework to implement them.

2. POLICY OBJECTIVE:

To create a legally backed, sustainable, transparent and accountable financing mechanism for SGBV prevention, comprehensive response and long-term economic empowerment of survivors in Oyo State.

3. MY POLICY PROPOSAL:

I propose a Bill for the establishment of the Oyo State SGBV Trust Fund with the following features:

a) Statutory Funding: Funded by 1% of Oyo State IGR, 5% contribution from the State Security Trust Fund, private sector CSR, and a donor basket fund. This ensures sustainability beyond donor cycles.

b) Ring-fenced Utilization: Leveraging my accounting background, I propose the law should mandate a clear formula: 40% to SARC revitalization, operations, medical and legal aid; 30% to Survivors' Economic Reintegration (skills, start-up grants, education support for girl survivors); 20% to prevention in schools and communities; 10% to data, research and annual audit. Annual audited reports to be published for public accountability.

c) Project Management Approach to Reintegration:Every enrolled survivor should have a 12-month managed reintegration plan handled by a trained case manager - from trauma counseling to economic empowerment - not just one-off assistance. This ensures value for money and measurable outcomes.

d) Inclusive Governance:The Fund should be managed by a multi-stakeholder Board comprising the Oyo State SGBV Response Agency, Ministries of Women Affairs, Justice, Health, and Finance, plus CSOs with proven SGBV track record and a survivor representative to ensure citizen oversight.

4. EXPECTED OUTCOME:

If passed, Oyo State will transition from donor-dependent response to a state-owned, sustainable model. It will lead to functional SARCs, reduced return-to-abuser rates, improved conviction rates through funded legal aid, and transparent, measurable budget performance on gender justice.

This is not just a gender policy, it is an accountability, economic inclusion and human capital development policy.

I have field data from 8 years of SGBV work and would be happy to co-develop a policy brief on this.

#SGBV #GenderResponsiveBudgeting #OyoState #TrustFund #InclusiveLegislation