No fewer than 2,588 children reportedly suffered sexual assault, and abuse in one year in Lagos State, the state government confirmed.
The figures were confirmed in a statement issued on Thursday, August 31, 2023, by the State Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General, Ms Titilayo Shitta-Bey.
Shitta-Bey, who spoke during a media briefing as part of activities to flag off the 2023 Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month, themed ‘Not in my Lagos, the children were emotionally abused during various domestic violence recorded in the state between August 2022 and July 2023.
Represented by the Executive Secretary, of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, Shitta-Bey noted that 40 per cent of those children 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.
She said: “From August 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023, the agency has handled 5624 cases which are into two categories, adults and children.
“The agency now receives an average of 250 clients every month. For adults- 91 per cent of survivors were female, 9 per cent were male, while for children- 45 per cent of survivors were boys, 55 per cent were girls.
“In the period under review, the Agency has provided services to 7 Persons with Disabilities who were experiencing one form of Gender-Based Violence or the other.
“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.”
