We Are Determined To Stamp Out Gender-Based Violence – Lagos First Lady

Lagos State First Lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, vowed that the State Government will continue to implement various initiatives aimed at stamping out the heinous crime of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), especially against women and children.
The First Lady who spoke during a press briefing held at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, to unveil activities lined up to mark this year’s Lagos GBV Week and the global 16 Days of Activism to end violence against women and girls, said the commitment of the present administration remains the same, which is zero tolerance to all forms of sexual and gender-based violence.
According to her, “Today is another great day in the annals of Lagos State as we jointly march forward in our quest to frontally stamp out all forms of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), especially against women and children in our communities across the State”.
“Essentially, we are here to unveil activities we have lined up in furtherance of the Lagos State Gender-Based Violence Week designed to scale up awareness and galvanise action. This is to ensure eradication of the menace of violence against women and girls in our dear State”, she added.
She said the Lagos GBV Week was being championed through a collaborative effort between her Office and critical stakeholders including the Ministries of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Youth and Social Development, Justice, Education, Health, Information and Strategy, Lagos State Judiciary and the Nigeria Police Force.
“It is also in line with the cause being championed by the 36 First Ladies in Nigeria, via our forum, to collectively end rape in the country, as well as the global 16 Days of Activism of the United Nations, which is an annual campaign to end violence against women”, she said.
Speaking on the Y2020 UN Campaign – “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect”, the First Lady said it was necessitated by the challenges brought about by the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, which according to her, effectively altered life and ensured an unanticipated lockdown not just in Nigeria, but across the world.
“As all efforts were geared towards battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of an already-existing pandemic of rape and violence against women and children were relegated to the background, and the result was a worrisome and an alarming spike in rape cases across the country. My office and other stakeholders have been collaboratively working to address the menace”, Mrs. Sanwo-Olu noted.
On activities for the GBV Week, Dr. Sanwo-Olu said plans have been concluded to embark on a massive Social Media Campaign, Identification of Complaint Platforms, Documentary and Docudrama as well as Sensitisation of various Women Groups.
She added that a working visit would be paid to Office of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) in Alausa, as well as the Gender Desk Unit of the Nigeria Police Force in Panti, among others.
The First Lady averred that the highpoint of the GBV Week will be a visit to Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, who has been commendably supportive and led efforts to fight the heinous crime of rape and all forms of Gender-Based Violence in the State.
While noting that a Compendium of Stakeholders’ Meetings on Gender-Based Violence in Lagos State will also be presented to Mr. Governor during the visit, Mrs. Sanwo-Olu pointed out that “the aim of doing this is that we envision a society where Sexual and Gender-Based Violence is reduced to the barest minimum and we are determined to achieve this by working collaboratively and effectively with relevant stakeholders”.
On her part, Wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat urged members of the public to join the effort of the State Government to drastically reduce the menace of rape and all forms of gender-based violence.
The press conference was attended by relevant stakeholders including the Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lagos Branch, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, representatives of African Women Lawyers Association, Youth Council of Nigeria and Parents Forum in Lagos State, among others.
Subscribe to our newsletter for latest news and updates. You can disable anytime.