By FLORENCE ONUEGBU

The Lagos State Government has unveiled its Sexual, Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Prevention Policy to strengthen coordinated interventions across the state.

Speaking at the unveiling of the policy on Thursday in Lagos, the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, described it as a comprehensive, prevention-centred framework.

Sanwo-Olu said that the policy was designed to strengthen systems, harmonise relevant sectors and provide accountability mechanisms for stakeholders.

She described SGBV as a public health, human rights and development issue, stressing that violence had no place in homes, schools, workplaces or communities.

According to her, the policy represents a shift from a largely response-centred approach to an institutionalised prevention strategy focused on addressing root causes and harmful social norms.

She said that the framework provided for dignity, confidentiality, psychosocial support, legal aid and economic rehabilitation for survivors.

Sanwo-Olu said that survivors should not be punished for speaking up or subjected to stigma because of their experiences.

“No survivor should be punished for speaking up or go through stigmatisation for what they have,” she said.

Sanwo-Olu said that the policy, developed with support from the Ford Foundation, addressed different forms of SGBV, including violence in homes, workplaces, educational institutions and digital spaces.

According to her, it also operationalises the Lagos Declaration of Zero Tolerance for all forms of SGBV.

Also speaking, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), said that the policy provided a structured framework for making prevention a sustained and collective responsibility.

“We cannot continue to focus only on what happens after violence occurs.

“Prevention requires us to identify the factors that enable violence, challenge harmful social norms and strengthen the systems that protect people before harm occurs,” Vivour-Adeniyi said.

She said that the state could not rely solely on prosecuting perpetrators to tackle SGBV.

“But the truth is that we cannot prosecute ourselves out of sexual and gender-based violence.

“We need to start asking those hard questions: Why is it happening? And what can we do, to prevent it from happening in the first place?” Vivour-Adeniyi said.

The executive secretary said that the policy was built around four interconnected pillars: primary prevention through education and awareness and secondary prevention through strengthened legal and policy frameworks.

She said that it built on tertiary prevention through survivor-centred services; and quaternary prevention through capacity building of first responders.

The primary prevention pillar focuses on education, awareness and social norm transformation, including consent, bodily autonomy and digital safety.

The secondary pillar strengthens legal and institutional mechanisms for early intervention and accountability, including streamlined Standard Operating Procedures for law enforcement and use of the Lagos State Sex Offenders Register.

The tertiary pillar promotes survivor-centred services and improves access to medical, legal, psychosocial and economic support, while the fourth pillar focuses on strengthening the capacity of first responders and service providers.

Implementation will be overseen by a multi-sectoral Technical Working Group anchored by DSVA, in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies and civil society partners.

The framework also provides for localised data indicators, heat mapping, quarterly reviews and public reporting to monitor progress and ensure accountability.

Vivour-Adeniyi said that the new policy built on the previous year’s policy on Technology-Facilitated Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which addressed online abuse such as cyberbullying, doxing, sextortion and online sexual harassment.

She said that the new framework incorporated technology-facilitated GBV while providing a broader approach to preventing different forms of violence. (NAN)