BREAKING NEWS, Women
–
AS part of effort to ensure peaceful family coexistence and reduce the menace of domestic violence in the society, the Lagos State Government, through the Ministry for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA, has treated 234 cases of domestic violence and empowered several women within the last one year.
Lola Akande, commissioner, who disclosed this today at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa Ikeja, during the Ministerial Press Briefing of the state government in commemoration of the first year in office of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, stated that the Ministry received 382 numbers of recorded mails on domestic violence and 553 distress phone calls of which 234 cases were successfully treated.
According to her, “Domestic violence has both immediate and long term effects and manifest as physical and emotional pains, harm, injury, humiliation and degradation, permanent and partial disability, separation, divorce, suicide and needless loss of precious lives.”
“In a bid to create awareness and reduce domestic violence, we have continued to organize various enlightenment/Advocacy Programmes, Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Integration of survivors as well as train various women through the state empowerment programmes.”
She explained that the Ministry has economically empowered over 164 women in Vocational and Skill Acquisition Programmes organized for women, while 100 counselors in public secondary schools in Education District IV were trained in conjunction with the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, in School’s Guardians and Counselors course.
Akande revealed that the Ministry has also organized Skill Acquisition programme for Arise Women Conference of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, City of David at Orile Iganmu where 246 women were trained, stressing that 668 women were also tested for breast/cervix cancer, sugar level and blood pressure in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
Speaking further on the Ministry’s activities in the area of child abuse, the Commissioner emphasized that no fewer than 589 cases of child labour and abuse had been treated by the State Government in the past one year in its continuous effort on Child Intervention, Rescue and Rehabilitation Programme with 1055 households empowered.
She further said that 108 sexual abuse cases, 205 physical abuse cases and 276 child labour cases had been treated by the Child Development Department in the Ministry. This is in addition to 1,055 households (i.e. parents of Vulnerable Children) that were strengthened through empowerment programmes and distribution of working tools like grinding and sewing machines by the government in collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Commissioner also said that as part of concerted efforts to curb cases of child abuse, the Ministry launched Priority Actions Document, titled “To End Violence Against Children”, which was a great leap in the administration’s determination and quest at strengthening public institutions and laws on violence against children in the state.
— Apr 26, 2016 @ 19:05 GMT
|
Tags:
