The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month with the theme “It is on Us” was officially opened today with a media briefing at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre by the Honorable Commissioner and Attorney-General for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Jubril Onigbanjo (SAN), as part of the activities commemorating the annual event.
Onigbanjo said that the theme for Y2022 was chosen based on the imperative need to ensure that citizens of Lagos State recognise that eradicating the issue of Sexual Gender-Based Violence is a community endeavour that needs the support and cooperation of all members of society.
He said that the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Abuse Response Team, which transformed into the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) in September 2021, was created to ensure and safeguard the rights of domestic and sexual violence survivors in the State.
According to him, the Agency affords survivors and third parties the opportunity to report cases of domestic and sexual violence in Lagos and swiftly address them in collaboration with relevant MDAs, partner Agencies, Gender-Based Violence Case Managers, the Police, NGOs, Psychologists, Rescue Team, Social Welfare, Healthcare workers, and the Judiciary.
Since its inception, the Agency has received a total of 4,860 cases via the Virtual Referral and Response Service (VRRS) and Physical reports, including domestic violence, rape, lack of parental care, a threat to life, sexual assault by penetration, emotional abuse, child neglect/abandonment, child labour, sexual molestation, and non-GBV cases committed against adults and children.
The Executive Secretary of DSVA, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, also addressed the gathering, informing them of the agency’s many activities and reiterating that the State government has zero tolerance for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence inside the state.
The Executive Secretary said that the Agency has seen an upsurge in the reporting of instances from other states, including Ogun, Abia, and Anambra, among others. Each month, the Agency gets a minimum of 200 complaints related to sexual and gender-based violence.
Her words: “In the past 11 months, a total of 394 cases occurred outside Lagos. Such cases were promptly referred to the relevant agencies in their respective States. The Office of the Public Defender and the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP) has provided free legal representation to 110 survivors of domestic violence on matters ranging from Judicial Separation, Divorce, Maintenance, Custody of Children and Settlement”.
“All the survivors of sexual assault also receive free medical attention from Lagos State Primary Healthcare Centres, General Hospitals and Sexual Assault Referral Centres like Mirabel Centre, Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) as well as Idera Centre”, she added.
A recent study of the 20 Local Government Areas in Lagos State revealed that the top top five LGAs with the highest cases of sexual violence involving adults are Alimosho, Ikorodu, Kosofe, Eti-Osa, and Oshodi-Isolo, whereas the top five LGAs with the highest cases that involved children are Alimosho, Kosofe, Ikorodu, Oshodi-Isolo, and Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Areas.
She noted that these findings necessitated the Agency’s collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs in introducing mandatory pre-marital preparatory counselling for intending couples to address domestic violence issues prior to marriage, and that a curriculum has also been developed for such couples.
The Executive Secretary consequently asked the media to collaborate with the Agency in order to rid society of this danger, urging the public to phone the toll-free number 08000333333 if there is a case of domestic or sexual violence or abuse in their area.