A group, Youth Alive Foundation has called on Lagosians to be alive in safeguarding against violence and exploitation of girls/women in Lagos State.
The foundation, alongside other cluster organisations like Women’s Rights and Health Project (WRAHP), FIDA, etc made the call during a town hall meeting at Ireti Resource Centre in Ikotun, Lagos State on Tuesday.
The programme, which was sponsored by Commonwealth Foundation, had women, schoolchildren, traditional and religious leaders in attendance.
Youth Alive Foundation Project Manager, Feyikemi Idowu Fabiyi, speaking during the event, advised the participants to make sure issues of violence against women, whether it happened to them, their neighbors or anybody they know, are reported to rights groups or security agencies.
She explained measures and laws Lagos State has put into place to guide against violence and exploitation of women in the state, including penalties for those who see such things happen and decide to keep quiet. She also talked about punishment for offenders and perpetrators of such acts if found guilty in a court of law.
“When you get to your various communities, schools, churches, and mosques continue to preach this message. When you see something, say something and do something immediately,” she said, adding, “See it, report it, anytime any day.”
Ireti Resource Centre Community Representative, Precious Eberechukwu, speaking, told the participants not to be afraid of reporting issues of gender-based violence to the centre, FIDA, among others.
Speaking after the event, The Baale of Orisumbare land, Alimosho, Lagos, High Chief Akeeb A. Rauf, applauded the organizers of the event. He, however, encouraged them to keep organizing such programmes, saying that it was needful to keep enlightening girls and women, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in the society on the issues of gender and sexual based-violence against women in Lagos.
He said, “It’s a very nice programme. By coming here today, I have learnt some new things. Some of the things I have learned today, if I come across them in my community, I now know how better to handle them.
“There is the need for regular programmes like this to enlighten traditional, religious and community leaders. But. the problem is that some traditional chiefs when you invite them for this type of event usually don’t attend. Sometimes, when government organize seminars on topics like this, some traditional chiefs will not come. So, that is why some of them don’t know how to tackle issues like.”
Kehinde Ogundimo, Chairman Greenland CDA, Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Alimosho, Lagos said that the programme was good because it was about our girls and our women.
According to him, programmes that enlighten, inform and educate people on how to guard against abuse, molestation and violence against women are necessary at this time with what is happening in the society.
“As a community leader, we hold meetings every month, all we have discussed today, I will need to call a meeting and relate it to my community. I will also advise them to replicate them in their homes,” Ogundimo added.