Through the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), the Lagos State Government taught judges and magistrates on Wednesday how to deal with sexual and gender-based violence in the state.
During the training, Justice Kazeem Alogba, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, said that it was important to deal with sexual and gender-based violence by taking a practical, all-encompassing approach and giving everyone involved thorough training.
According to Alogba, the availability of forensic facilities for evidence, investigation, and collecting as well as aggressive social stigmatisation prevention efforts for victims and survivors will greatly increase the victims’ confidence to come forward.
Survivors’ confidence and social integration will be further boosted by the provision of psychosocial support services and the facilitation of support group counselling, he added.
The Chief Judge voiced worries about the safety of witnesses in court and urged the government to give technology tools for conducting virtual or in-person witness interviews and gathering witness statements.
According to Alogba, more internal training will promote swift and timely justice administration.
Also addressing, Ms. Titilayo Shitta-Bey, the Solicitor General for the Ministry of Justice, praised DSVA for its effectiveness in providing significant support and assistance to victims/survivors of domestic and sexual crimes, particularly children and women in distressing environments.
The state is concerned, according to Shitta-Bey, about the rising number of cases being received and handled by the DSVA.
According to her, combating the threat of SGBV requires an all-encompassing, collaborative approach since survivors deserved to be treated tenderly and with sensitivity at all phases of the criminal justice system, taking into account their traumatised and psychological state.
In her opening remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), Mrs. Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, stated that the training was particularly important at the time because the number of SGBV cases was rising.
Viviour-Adeniyi said that the goal was to make it easy and quick for victims of domestic and sexual violence to get justice.
