Lagos decries rising domestic child abuse

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Lagos decries rising domestic child abuse

The Lagos State Government on Saturday decried the increasing rate of abuse of children, even in homes.

The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, raised the concern during the Parents Association Conference on Safeguarding and Child Protection, held at Awori Ajeromi Grammar School, Agboju.

Vivour-Adeniyi, who was represented by the Head, Psychology Department, DSVA, Mrs Olive Oluwagbemileke, said the Lagos State Government would leave no stone unturned to prosecute perpetrators.

Vivour-Adeniyi said, “The DSVA has been mandated to sensitise parents and enlighten the general public on the alarming increase in child abuse, such as physical, sexual violence, negligence, which have gone on the increase over the years.

“So in order to curb the alarming increase, we have been mandated to sensitise the general public to what child abuse is, the signs, the symptoms, because if we don’t know that our children are being abused, imagine the population of children who are suffering under this menace.

“So parents are able to watch out for these symptoms and also know the laws and policies that have been put in place by the government to protect children.

“In addition, we will also be enlightening parents about effective parenting skills from the psychological perspective.

“We also enlightened parents on the differences between punishment and discipline, because most parents punish children, and this leads to a lot of abuse in society, and also in the long run, most of these children come down with mental health issues as adults in the future,” she said.

Also speaking, Director, Monitoring and Investigation, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mr Kamardeen Akodu, said there had been an increase in reported cases of abuse.

“It is important to note that, while the focus had been on perpetrators in schools, vis-a-vis teachers and school owners, more attention should be paid to homes.

“This is because investigation has revealed that abuses, at times, are due to negligence on the part of parents. In some cases, the abusers are relations and family friends,” Akodu said.