A total of 55 husbands in Lagos have reported their wives to the State Government for beating them up, according to the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem. He made the disclosure on Tuesday while addressing a meeting in Alausa to commemorate the Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month.

Kazeem disclosed that a total of 852 cases of domestic violence and related cases were recorded in the state between January and September 2017.

Out of the number, there were 564 domestic violence cases, 60 defilement cases, 30 rape cases, 11 attempted rape, 123 child neglect and abuse cases, and 84 other cases.

He observed that the trend from the data showed an increase in men reporting cases of domestic violence, saying that a total of 55 men came forward to report in 2017 compared to 14 men who reported in 2016.

The commissioner said the data revealed that most of the sexual assault cases were perpetrated in the afternoon during weekdays, stressing that 95 per cent of the perpetrators of sexual violence were known to the victims.

He explained that this necessitated the need to embark on sensitisation campaigns for parents on parenting skills and child abuse prevention tips, as well as training for children on child’s rights, child abuse, safety and how to preserve evidence.

While some of the cases have been charged to court, Kazeem said the state government, through the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, in partnership with other stakeholders, provided shelter for the survivors.

He added that all the survivors of sexual assault were given adequate medical attention among other efforts to properly rehabilitate and reintegrate them into the society.

The commissioner, who is also the Chairman of the State’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), highlighted some of the successes recorded by the team.

He said the interventions of DSVRT were gradually breaking the silence around issues of sexual and gender based violence in the State.

“There is a growing confidence urging people to speak out more, there is an astronomical increase in reporting of cases in the media,” Kazeem said in a statement.

“Lagos has indeed revolutionised the way sexual and gender based violence is being tackled in Nigeria with all the pioneering initiatives of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (of Lagos State).”

He further revealed that the state government has concluded plans to launch a short service code that would afford residents the opportunity of reporting cases of domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse and other related offences with ease.

According to the commissioner, the initiative was aimed at ensuring that victims of all forms of abuse reach out to the appropriate agencies and receive timely information on what to do and where to get assistance.

“This would be achieved by members of the public using keywords, that is, ‘Child Abuse to 6820’ or *6820# and an interactive menu browser to get the relevant information from such users such as name, location, specific case or complaint which would, in turn, ensure that the whole response team is automatically activated.

“Anybody that needs to report a case of child abuse, rape or domestic violence or requires a child or a woman to be rescued can make use of the platform and should receive timely and accurate information,” he said.

•Adapted from a Channels TV report.

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