In a disconcerting revelation, the Lagos State Government, operating through its Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), has reported a staggering total of 5,624 cases of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) within a span of just one year. This concerning statistic was unveiled by Ms Titilayo Shitta-Bey, the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, during a media briefing held in Ikeja to mark the commencement of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month, observed throughout the month of September.
Shitta-Bey, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of DSVA, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, revealed that from August 1, 2022, to July 2023, the agency received these 5,624 cases through both the Virtual Referral and Response Service (VRRS) and physical reports. Shockingly, the agency now tends to an average of 250 clients on a monthly basis, highlighting the distressing prevalence of such incidents.
For adult victims of these cases, a significant 91 percent are female, while the remaining nine percent are male. Among cases involving children, 45 percent are boys, and 55 percent are girls, painting a grim picture of the pervasive nature of this crisis.
Delving further into the statistics, Shitta-Bey disclosed that of the 5,624 reported cases, 2,331 were related to domestic violence, 90 pertained to rape, 72 involved sexual assault, one was an attempted rape, two were cases of sexual assault by penetration, and 123 cases were related to threats to life.
Additionally, the agency handled 609 cases of separation, parental neglect, child abduction, child labour, and custody disputes, alongside 384 cases categorized as non-Gender Based Violence (GBV), which encompassed disputes such as tenancy disputes and simple assaults, among others.
The report also highlighted 143 cases of child abuse and physical assault, 235 cases of defilement, three cases of defilement and molestation involving minors, and 33 cases of sexual harassment and molestation.
A deeply concerning revelation was the exposure of 1,598 children to emotional abuse, underlining the urgent need for counselling and psychological support to mitigate the long-lasting impact of such traumatic experiences.
The agency has observed a noteworthy increase in cases reported from other states, particularly from the South West and South East regions. Over the past 11 months, 248 cases were reported from outside Lagos, and these cases were promptly referred to the relevant agencies in their respective states.
In response to these distressing trends, the Office of the Public Defender and the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP) have provided free legal representation to 79 survivors, covering areas such as domestic violence, judicial separation, divorce, maintenance, child custody, and settlement.
All survivors of sexual assault received essential medical attention from Comprehensive Primary Health Care Centres, General Hospitals, and Sexual Assault Referral Centres, including Mirabel Centre, Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), and Idera Centre.
During this period, DSVA also extended its services to seven Persons with Disabilities who were experiencing various forms of GBV. Disturbingly, the youngest victim of sexual violence was an 18-month-old baby, while the oldest survivor of domestic violence was a 79-year-old woman.
The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency was established with the primary goal of guaranteeing and safeguarding the rights of survivors of domestic and sexual violence, with the ultimate aim of significantly reducing these alarming incidents within the state.
