The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency has taken a proactive step towards tackling abuse by organising a two-day training programme for focal persons to enable them to act as first responders to cases of abuse.
The focal persons were drawn from Kosofe Local Government Area, Agboyi Ketu Local Council Development Area, and Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area.
According to a statement issued by the Executive Secretary of DSVA, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, the agency is mandated to ensure that the government’s stance against sexual and gender-based violence is ingrained through various training programmes.
The statement read in part, “One of the facilitators, Ms Salami Ebose, of the Community Engagement Department, DSVA, lectured the participants in the first session on the overview of sexual and gender-based violence, focusing on the meaning of abuse and the various forms of abuse.
“She also discussed the relevance of consent, its withdrawal, sexual assault, types of child abuse and the psychological effect of domestic violence on a child.
“Mr Tobi Ikudayisi, another facilitator, spoke on interviewing survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, describing a survivor’s trauma and expectations, just as he stressed the importance of providing the necessary psycho-social support for the victim. He emphasised that the data/evidence collection phase will most importantly determine the success or failure of the case.”