The Lagos State Government, through the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), is set to introduce technology in its bids to eradicate and successfully empower citizens in the fight against Gender-Based Violence.
Speaking on Tuesday at a media parley held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa to commemorate the Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month, the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, who is also the Chairman of DSVRT, said the State Government has concluded plans to launch a short service code to avail residents the opportunity of reporting cases of domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse and other related offences with ease.
He said 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.
Kazeem explained that the process entails members of the public sending a text message ‘Child Abuse’ to 6820 or dialling *6820# for an interactive menu that will solicit for relevant information from the user such as name, location, specific case or complaint and thereafter the whole response team is automatically notified.
In his words, “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 also noted that between January and September 2017, a total of 872 cases of domestic violence and related cases were recorded in Lagos State, out of which 564 were domestic violence cases, 60 defilement cases, 30 rape cases, 11 attempted rape, 123 child neglect and abuse cases, and 84 other cases.
The Commissioner disclosed further that the trend from the data showed an increase in men coming forward to report cases of domestic violence, stressing that this year alone, a total number of 55 men came forward to report such cases in contrast to 14 last year.
He maintained that under the present administration, 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.Lagos has indeed revolutionized the way sexual and gender based violence is being tackled in Nigeria with all the pioneering initiatives of the present administration” Kazeem said.
While reiterating that 95 percent of the perpetrators of sexual violence are known to the victims, he said the data also indicated that most sexual assault cases were perpetrated in the afternoon during weekdays, which necessitated the need by DSVRT to embark on sensitization 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.He informed that some of the cases have been charged to the court through the State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, while stakeholders provided shelter for the survivors after receiving medical attention, among other efforts to properly rehabilitate and reintegrate them into the society.One more photo below.
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