By Bolaji Okunola
The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) has stepped up in its mandate to eradicate rape, molestation, and other assaults against girls, women, children and the vulnerable.
During the agency’s induction ceremony for fifty students selected to join the King’s Club at the weekend, the Head of Community Engagement for Lagos DSVA, Damilare Adewusi, said the agency has intensified its efforts to ensure timely responses to the needs of domestic and sexual violence survivors by providing legal, medical, emergency assistance, counseling, and psychosocial support.
Adewusi further stressed that the agency has also gone the extra mile in fostering relationships with parents and guardians to curb violence and bring perpetrators to justice.
In his words: “I’m glad to tell you we are stepping up our efforts to create a safe community for our minors. The state government has been proactive in granting our requests, and I commend the parents and guardians who have seen us as allies in safeguarding their wards. The agency has done significant work to foster trust and positive engagement with families whose children are under our care.
“As an agency, we recognise that many adolescents face conflicting messages about sexuality and gender. This issue is often worsened by embarrassment, silence, and adults’ reluctance to openly discuss sexual matters, even though such dialogue is urgently needed. We’ve also found that few young people receive adequate guidance as they navigate their sexual lives, leaving them vulnerable to coercion, abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
“To address this, we established an alliance of trained young boys in schools to serve as peer educators and advocates for positive masculinity. We partnered with the Ministry of Education to launch programs across the state’s six educational districts. This is just the tip of the iceberg compared to other initiatives we’ll unveil soon.”
The keynote speaker, Akinropo Akinoola, applauded the state government and the agency for pioneering the initiative. He urged other states to adopt similar measures for the nation’s benefit.
“It’s no secret that many minors have been molested prior to this initiative, but we’re now on the right track to end such atrocities. I’m pleased these students have learned valuable lessons during their training and hope they become ambassadors to inspire others in this fight. The Lagos State government has fulfilled its duty, and I encourage other states to embrace this model,” he remarked.
Students from Iju High School, Keke Senior High School (Ifako), Stadium Grammar School (Surulere), Eko Junior College (Orile Agege), Unity Junior College (Pen Cinema), Joram College (Agege), and others shared their perspectives on the initiative’s significance.