The Lagos State government through the State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, DSVA has joined the rest of the world to commemorate this year’s 16 days of Activism to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence.
The 16-day campaign which starts on 25, November 2024 is part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and will come to a close on 10 December, 2024 which is the International Human Rights Day.
Speaking at the flag off of the advocacy campaign held at the Oniwaya of Iwaya Palace in Yaba Local Council Development Area of Lagos, the Executive Secretary, Lagos Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, DSVA, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi said that the whole essence is to leverage the international days, through the traditional rulers to close the gaps of advocacy against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the state.
Vivour-Adeniyi explained that the agency has been working assiduously in the last ten months with critical stakeholders to create awareness on the need to stand against any form of domestic violence in the state and is this time tilting its advocacy directions towards the traditional rulers.
“To mark this year’s international day, the agency is partnering with the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption programme with support from European Union and implemented by the International IDEA to engage 16 Traditional Rulers in the state to assist in the advocacy.”
She mentioned that the agency relied on data to select these kingdoms having looked at areas with high prevalence, low reportage of cases and areas that has not been engaged during the year.
“It is an opportunity for us to heightened awareness and demystified certain myths that are associated with sexual and gender-based violence. This year’s theme; ‘Towards Beijing +30: UNITE to End Violence Against Women and Girls’ is very apt with what we do at DSVA, but we thought it is expedient to use this opportunity to engage traditional rulers, because they sometimes serve as first responders and also they are the custodian of culture and you know that culture can encourage and discourage perpetration of sexual and gender-based violence in the community. So, It is important for us to strengthen our relationship with the traditional rulers.
“At the end of the 16 days of Activism we would have gone to 16 kingdom and we would have saturated the kingdoms with the zero tolerance message of sexual and gender-based violence and ultimately encourage residents to know that they are not alone, that government has put in place several support systems that they can take advantage of.”
Vivour-Adeniyi who maintained that previous advocacy by the agency has led to increase in the formal and informal reporting cases, said the campaign train will move around the 5 divisions of Lagos and reach the nooks and crannies of the state within the 16 days as more kingdoms will be covered in the coming years.
Good start
In his remarks, the Oniwaya of Iwaya Kingdom, Oba Suleiman Owolabi Oloko appreciated the state government and their sponsors for making his kingdom the starting point of the 16-day campaigns.
He acknowledged that the community is not impervious to the issue of domestic and sexual violence, stressing tha he has on different occasions intervened in numerous reported cases of sexual and gender-based atrocities which he escalated through the Domestic and Gender Violence Agency, DSVA.
“It is quite fantastic that we have this opportunity to get people informed about this issue of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and how to channel their concerns. And this sensitisation will go along way to assist the residents of this community on how to fight this scourge.”
Scourge Eradication
The State Project Coordinator, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Program funded by European Union and implemented by International IDEA, Mrs Ajibola Ijimakinwa, said that it is important to get the buy-in of the traditional rulers and to also sensitise the members of the community about the dangers of sexual and Gender-based violence and to ensure the message is cascaded to other members of the community towards not reducing the scourge but to eradicate it.
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