A Mock Tribunal to Advance Change

On March 14, 2001 the Nigerian public, media, and government witnessed something that had never happened before. In a "mock tribunal" in Abuja, the federal capital of Nigeria, 33 women and girls told a distinguished panel of judges their individual stories of violent victimization. The event attracted ample media coverage and an audience of from 150 to 500 people over the course of the day. It was the first major organized attempt in the country to break the public silence on violence against women. As each woman finished her testimony–or the testimony of her sisters, for the woman who did not survive–the audience was often in tears. At the end the panel of judges retired to deliberate, and returned with a powerful set of recommendations for significant policy changes to protect Nigerian women from violence and human rights abuse.

This mock tribunal was organized by BAOBAB For Women’s Human Rights and by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Center (CIRDDOC). The idea developed after seeing the impact of tribunals like those in Vienna and Tokyo, and the worldwide attention they attracted. CIRDDOC had itself, in 1999, organized a mock tribunal in Anambra State in South East Nigeria, addressing human rights violations. This event attracted a strong public turnout, and began further discussions on human rights violations in general and those affecting women in particular. Since 1996, BAOBAB had been running workshops and producing radio programs to draw attention to violence against women, and working with women on ways to recognize violence and build defenses against it. Prior to this event, violence against women was given no serious attention in the press, in the halls of government, or in law enforcement. We felt that engaging prominent persons in such a high-profile event would facilitate policy changes. We organized this mock tribunal so that the general public would recognize violence against women and help stop it; so that law enforcement agents would recognize such violence, their own role in perpetuating it, and their responsibility in preventing it; so that the government would agree to play a more significant role in reducing the violence and make resources available to help care for victims; and also so that the government would provide resources to compensate and counsel survivors, helping them integrate back into their lives and communities.

We believe that the tribunal and its associated media workshops influenced the consciousness not only of the Nigerian public, but of bodies such as the National Assembly and the law enforcement agencies (police, army, customs, and the like). At the tribunal itself, legislators vowed to use all power within their reach to fight violence against women, and promised to play a significant role in ensuring that the bill on violence against women was passed into law. The tribunal attracted a great deal of media and public attention, which helped move the problem of violence against women onto the public agenda, opening the way for more effective application of other tactics such as public education and pressure. It also helped empower survivors and give them hope for the future.

Additional Resources:

• The International Museum of Women has posted an article on BAOBAB for the March, 2008 focus of Women, Power and Politics! The story has inspired and attracted 1,000 visitors a day to read, comment and take action at www.imow.org.
• The website of the International Museum of Women has a new online community allows both individuals and organizations to become a member and connect with like-minded women, men and organizations around the world.

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