Lagos State Gender Advocacy Team (LASGAT) Declares Oct 13 – 17 Week of Action against Gender Based Violence

Lagos State no doubt has proved through its people centred laws and projects, that it has the wellbeing of the most vulnerable people among us, namely: women, girls, persons with disabilities at heart. Many of whom suffer gender based violence in the hands of their caregivers. However, there is room for more.

In a press statement issued by the Lagos State Coordinator of LASGAT, Barr. Titilope Akosa, at a media briefing to officially kick start the week, she commended the state government for enacting the Domestic Violence Law in 2007. Continuing, she stated that this law does not fully criminalize domestic violence in absolute terms.

She encouraged all to not loose sight of the significance of this week as it coincides with the celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child with the theme “Ending the Circle of Violence against the Girl Child.

Barr Akosa called on the state to protect the rights of citizens to life and bodily integrity and to ensure that their rights are not violated by stepping up action to strengthen the enforcement of domestic violence law with the following recommendations:

• Adopting and passing into law the sexual offences bill which is currently before the National Assembly;
• Gathering data to enable the quantification of the economic and non-economic cost of domestic violence in the state to enable budgetary allocation needed to fight the scourge;
• Developing policy guidelines that will ensure zero tolerance for trivializing the offences and letting perpetrators go free;
• Giving legal backing to the week of action against domestic violence as an annual event to be celebrated throughout Lagos.

In her closing remarks, she called on the Nigerian government to ensure the safe return of the Chibok Girls as soon as possible.

 

This program is organized by the Lagos State Gender Advocacy Team (LASGAT) with support from DFID/SAVI, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Office of the Attorney General of Lagos State, Office of the Public Defender, SOS Children Village, Save the Children, Centre for 21^st Century Issues, ASHA Initiative and many others.

You can follow this event online via Facebook, and by following the #AADV, #LASGAT.