The 2018 report of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team of
the Ministry of Justice, Lagos State, has shown a 134 per cent increase
in cases of rape, defilement and domestic violence handled by the agency
compared to the previous year.
The report indicated that DSVRT handled 2,356 cases in 2018 – 1,312
higher than 1,044 cases treated in the preceding year. In the year under
review, the agency recorded 1,750 domestic violence cases, 279 child
abuse cases, 78 defilement cases, 44 cases of rape, 51 attempted rape
cases and 154 other cases.
While the number of domestic violence cases increased by 817, the
incidence of child abuse and defilement rose by 251 and 37 respectively.
Rape cases was 24 higher compared to the 2017 report.
According to the 2018 statistics, the office on the average received
166 new cases monthly and got 840 genuine reports via the 6820 emergency
short code.
The report stated, “The team recorded a major increase in the number
of cases handled in 2018. A total number of 2,356 cases, including 1,750
domestic violence cases, 279 child abuse cases, 78 defilement cases, 44
rape cases, 51 attempted rape cases and 154 other cases were handled.
It was discovered that the number of cases increased by 134 per cent in
the year 2018.“DSVRT has responded to 439 reports of domestic violence, 215 reports
of sexual abuse and 186 reports of child abuse – all reported via the
6820 platform. What is most exciting about the platform is that it
breaks the initial barrier of people not wanting to make formal reports
at an office or police station. We are now able to interact directly
with survivors and concerned witnesses and take vital steps in dealing
with a case.”
The report added that DSVRT focused on children who experienced
violence at the hands of close relations, noting that a total number
of 2,646 children were exposed to domestic violence within the home.
Some of the children were said to have been taken through counselling
programmes to ensure that their experiences did not have permanent and
negative impacts on them.
The report said, “From January 2018 to December 2018, the attention
of DSVRT was drawn to incidents of child abuse in 19 schools. All the
erring schools are under investigation by the Office of Education
Quality Assurance in the Ministry of Education. All the defilement cases
have been taken to court.”
