We live in a society where the culture of silence thrives and many believe that crime especially s3xual abuse or domestic violence should be treated like a family affair that is resolved within the family.
But this does not apply under the law in many states especially Lagos where concealing of s3xual
Offence is a criminal act that attracts a three-year jail term.
This was made public to people who were ignorant of the law when the Lagos State Domestic and S3xual Violence Agency (DSVA) issued a warning to Lagosians to stop protecting s3xual offenders.
The DSVA Executive Secretary, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi said that whoever protects s3xual offenders would be liable to three years imprisonment during an outreach programme with members of Ojodu LCDA’s Community Development Committee (CDC) at their monthly CDA meeting as part of the ongoing efforts to further propagate the SGBV message.
Vivour-Adeniyi said this is in keeping with the agency’s mission to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Lagos.
She emphasised that the value of the ongoing communication with CDAs was to ensure the message gets to every member of the society as much as possible and stressed that concealing a s3xual offence is punishable under the law and could warrant a three-year jail term.
She urged people to speak up timely as required reporters when such situations occur within their community to ensure justice is served to perpetrators of SGBV crimes.
The Agency’s Community Engagement Representative, Ms. Opemipo Ogunse, briefed participants on the gravity of s3xual and gender-based violence and outlined the reporting guidelines.
She described the agency’s services, the cooperation with the Police Family Support Unit (FSU), and appropriate reporting procedures.
The questions and answers session allowed for interactions for community members to be very open.
It should be noted that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP), which operates in about 25 states of the federation frowns at trying to cover up s3xual offences or being an accessory to s3xual crimes.
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