THE Lagos state government has recorded 5,624 cases of sexual abuse between August 2022 and July 2023.
The state’s Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General, Titilayo Shitta-Bey, represented by the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, disclosed this during a press briefing on Thursday, August 31.
“From August 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023, the Agency handled 5,624 cases in two categories, adults and children.
“The agency now receives an average of 250 clients every month. For adults – 91 per cent of survivors were female, and nine per cent were male; while for children – 45 per cent of survivors were boys, 55 per cent were girls,” she said.
Vivour-Adeniyi also disclosed that there were at least seven persons with disabilities who encountered gender-based violence during the period under review.
Of the figure, 2,588 were children, which is over 45 per cent of the recorded cases. The Executive Security said some of the affected children had begun counselling programmes to aid them in overcoming their experiences.
“The youngest child that experienced sexual violence was an 18-month-old baby, while the oldest client that experienced domestic violence was a 79-year-old woman,” she said.
Sexual violence is a global problem. Nigeria declared a state of emergency on the issue in 2020 due to the increasing number of cases nationwide.
Many victims also never get justice for several reasons, including long trial periods, which are also responsible for low conviction rates in Nigeria.
On several occasions, the government promised to establish specialised courts to ensure speedy trials of rape cases, but very little has been done beyond promises.
Child sexual abuse is also quite prevalent in the country. Although Nigeria has signed several legal instruments to protect children against the menace, the lack of implementation makes a mockery of some enacted laws and treaties.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, one in four girls and one out of ten boys in Nigeria have experienced sexual violence.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.