Lagos State Child Sexual Abuse Investigative and Interview Protocol was launched yesterday in Lagos as part of efforts to ensure better justice for children.

Speaking at the launch of the protocol, the Lagos State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Lagos, Lawal Pedro, underscored the importance of the protocol to ensuring justice for children sexually abused, and maintained that children deserved a justice system that would listen to them with dignity.

Commending all the partners that included CeCe Yara Foundation, Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (ROLAC) for helping to bring the idea to life, the commissioner was optimistic that with the protocol, the state government had moved from idea to delivery in terms of promoting justice for abused children.

He added that the protocol was very important for the children because when a child talks about abuse, his or her words should be taken seriously and appropriately, so that decisions would be based on fact and not sentiment.

The Chief Executive Officer of Cece Yara Foundation, Bisi Ajayi-Kayode, said the launch of the protocol was a dream that was conceived when the Foundation was established. She appreciated all those who contributed to making the launch a success and noted that a poor forensic interviewing process often resulted in sexually abused children experiencing secondary trauma injustice.

On her part, the Founder of Cece Yara Foundation, Mrs Bola Tinubu, said it is the launch of a voice for children, noting that her foundation was birthed to ensure children’s voices mattered and that they got justice.