The Lagos State government has through its Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, (DSVA) opened the Eko Haven, a 30-bed shelter for survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
The Executive Secretary of DSVA, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, in a press statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday said the move is part of the state government’s commitment in ensuring holistic support is provided for survivors of SGBV.
She said: “Opening the shelter was the state government’s prompt response to the burgeoning demand to ensure preservation of life, safety, stability, empowerment and subsequently the reintegration of survivors back into the society”.
According to Ms Vivour- Adeniyi, the establishment of the shelter is in keeping with the DSVA’s statutory mandate of establishing shelters across the state.
“With this intervention, it is our hope that survivors in abusive relationships would find the courage to break the culture of silence, speak up and speak out with the assurance that help is just a call away,” she said.
In addition to providing accommodation, the shelter is expected to provide health, psychosocial support and livelihood support for GBV survivors.
Other services to help survivors address their trauma are empowerment activities, personal and legal advocacy and in-house psychosocial support, she said.
Lagos State experienced 4800 cases of domestic violence in the state between September 2021 and June 2022.
There have been 18,123 GBV cases in Nigeria as of June 25 from 2019 according to Report GBV, a database compiled by the Ministry of Women Affairs.
Credit: premiumtimesng.com
