No fewer than 2,588 children have been sexually and emotionally abused in Lagos, between August 2022 to July 2023.
Ms. Titilayo Shitta-Bey, the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General of Lagos State, stated this on Thursday at a media briefing as part of activities to flag off the 2023 Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month, themed ‘Not in My Lagos.’
According to Shitta-Bey, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, at least 2,588 children were sexually and emotionally abused during various domestic violence incidents recorded in the state between August 2022 and July 2023.
She added that 40 percent of those children sexually abused have been taken through counselling programmes to ensure they can psychologically deal with the events they have witnessed without having a permanent and negative impact on them.
Speaking on the sexual and emotional abuse of children in the state, she said: “From August 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023, the agency has handled 5624 cases, which are divided into two categories: adults and children.
“The agency now receives an average of 250 clients every month. For adults, 91 percent of survivors were female; 9 percent were male; and for children, 45 percent of survivors were boys and 55 percent were girls.
“In the period under review, the agency has provided services to seven persons with disabilities who were experiencing one form of gender-based violence or another.
“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.
“The effects of sexual and gender-based violence cannot be overemphasised, as 90 percent of the survivors disclosed that they have experienced low self-esteem, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), extreme fear, and anxiety, and about five percent suffered from depression and had to seek medical help.
“In the period under review, the agency has provided services to seven persons with disabilities who were experiencing one form of gender-based violence or another.
“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.
“The effects of sexual and gender-based violence cannot be overemphasised, as 90 percent of the survivors disclosed that they have experienced low self-esteem, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), extreme fear, and anxiety, and about five percent suffered from depression and had to seek medical help.
“Some of the men and women who experienced domestic violence disclosed that they lost their means of livelihood as a result of the abuse.”
