By Sodiq Ojuroungbe
To guarantee them better access to justice and support services, the Lagos State Government has called on men who have been subjected to any kind of domestic abuse by their spouses to come forward and seek redress.
The government noted that the law against domestic violence is also meant to protect men who were abused by their wives and support them.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, the Executive Secretary of Lagos Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said the agency will provide legal protection for men who are victims of abuse and make it easier for them to access support services and counselling.
She noted that regardless of the gender of the person reporting the abuse, every case is handled equally under Lagos State’s Protection Against Domestic Violence Law.
According to her, the law is gender-based and not gender biased, stating that irrespective of who is alleged of committing an offense, the law would ensure its full wrath on that person.
Recently, Nigeria’s social media were awash with the news of 340 men being beaten by their wives in Lagos between September 2022 and July 2023.
Vivour-Adeniyi was quoted to have released the data in the quarterly reports by the DSVA.
On the authenticity of the data, the DSVA Executive-Secretary said the 340 men reported domestic violence cases ranging from verbal, emotional, and physical abuse from their spouses.
Vivour-Adeniyi disclosed that the 340 males reported incidences of domestic violence perpetrated against them by their wives between September 2022 and August 2023
She explained that 75 per cent of the reported cases were verbal and emotional abuse, 10 per cent were physical abuse, and 15 per cent were threats to life.
When asked if legal and stringent actions were taken against the accused women, the DSVA boss added, “We also take legal actions against some of these women. For instance, we were able to secure a restraining order against an abusive female spouse.
“The truth of the matter is that social and gender-based violence is not a respecter of gender. But you have to take cognizance of the fact even among that 340 men, we have over 5000 people emanating from women. So, it is better to put this data in context.
“Our data revealed 93 per cent female and just 7 per cent male. This is not to say that men are not victims of violence.
“So, the fact it is men who reported it does not make it less serious or does not mean that we would not respond. We have a statutory mandate to respond to all incidences of sexual and gender-based violence irrespective of gender.
“Some men wanted restraining orders, some wanted counseling, some wanted legal representation to have access to their children and those services were rendered to the men that requested.
“I want to encourage anybody reading this to know that if they are experiencing violence, they should break the curse of silence. They should remember that every domestic violence case is a potential murder case.”
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POST AUTHOR: Sodiq Ojuroungbe
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