![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Katsina-Sexual-Assault-Referral-Centre.webp?fit=696%2C314&ssl=1\")
\u201cThis progress reflects our growing ability to document, monitor, and respond to child protection concerns with professionalism and transparency,\u201d said Aminu Badaru-Jikamshi, Permanent Secretary of the department. He praised UNICEF\u2019s support in equipping the centre with tools and training that have improved service delivery to survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several survivors attending the workshop shared their experiences, emphasizing the importance of safe spaces and timely intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was afraid to speak out at first,\u201d said Fatima (surname withheld), a 17-year-old survivor from Funtua. \u201cBut when I came to the centre, I felt heard. They didn\u2019t just treat me medically\u2014they helped me feel human again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another survivor, Hauwa, 22, said the centre helped her navigate both medical and legal support after her assault. \u201cWithout the referral centre, I wouldn\u2019t have known where to go. They helped me file a report and get counseling. I\u2019m still healing, but I\u2019m not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Badaru-Jikamshi said the state is exploring a study tour to other regions with operational Sexual Assault Referral Centres to adopt best practices and strengthen Katsina\u2019s response system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe must listen, learn, and share experiences so we can further strengthen access to timely, coordinated services for our children and communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNICEF\u2019s Chief of Child Protection in Abuja, Ibrahim Sesay, represented by specialist Pragna Chakma, reaffirmed the agency\u2019s commitment to ending violence against children in Nigeria. \u201cUNICEF has provided essential items to enhance the centre\u2019s operations and ensure it delivers services at full capacity,\u201d Chakma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The workshop is part of a broader effort to build a safer environment for children in the region, where sexual and gender-based violence remains a pressing concern. Organizers say the training will help improve survivor-centered care and coordination among key actors in the child protection system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KATSINA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 The Katsina Sexual Assault Referral Centre has documented 110 cases of sexual assault since its launch in December 2023, according to state officials. The figure, revealed Tuesday during a three-day training workshop in Katsina, underscores the growing urgency to address sexual and gender-based violence in the region. Of the reported cases, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[246,244,243,242,146,245],"class_list":["post-23133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news","tag-child-protection-information-management-system","tag-department-of-girl-child-education-and-child-development","tag-katsina","tag-katsina-sexual-assault-referral-centre","tag-nigeria","tag-unicefs-chief-of-child-protection"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-331.png?fit=1500%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23133"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23145,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23133\/revisions\/23145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}