EKO NEWS

Lagos Begins Town Hall Community Meetings Against Sexual, Domestic Violence

Published

3 years ago

Feb 11, 2022.

Agency begins campaign against sexual, domestic violence in Lagos councils

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) recently commenced its advocacy and sensitisation awareness about Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) across local councils with town hall meetings.

The town hall meeting, which took off in Surulere, will be taken round the state.

The campaign is tagged: “It’s on us to end Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.”

Speaking yesterday at the Abibat Mogaji Memorial Hall, Surulere, DSVA’s Executive Secretary, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said: “We are taking the message to local councils at the grassroots to ensure that every resident of Lagos State is empowered with information as regards domestic and sexual violence, what it entails, support services available and the phone numbers they can call so that nobody dies in silence.

“Aside from creating awareness in the community, we will be able to establish a presence in local councils so that when cases occur, it’s not just coming straight to Alausa or wherever we are, we believe we would have empowered people enough to see themselves as mandated reporters, receive this cases and refer appropriately to the nearest complaint receiving centre,” she said.

Vivour-Adeniyi added: “This campaign is for everyone. Safeguarding children and domestic violence has nothing to do with age or class; it has to do with everyone as long as you are a resident of Lagos. It’s on us to end sexual and domestic violence.”

The Assistant Superintendent of Police, Abimbola Williams, who urged residents to report any case of domestic and sexual violence within their locations, assured them that their identity would be protected. She further admonished parents to educate their children on sex education.

Chairman, Coker-Aguda Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Ibrahim Razak Lekan, commended the agency for bringing the campaign to his community.

He said: “What we need to do is to sensitise people more on responding to SGBV in their various localities. We need to sensitise them on the mode of dressing to avoid the wrong perception.

“Within this council, we lack tight security because there is no police station around here. So, it makes it easier for them to be violent but Governor Sanwo-Olu has assured that a police station would be built after the issue was tabled before him.”

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