There is increase in sexual, domestic violence reports despite lockdown, says DSVRT

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) has said it will leverage on technology to assist victims of sexual abuses and domestic violence during the period of the lockdown occasioned by the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

This followed the increase in the number of people calling the team to report abuses by persons taking advantage of the lockdown to perpetuate the dastardly act against unsuspecting persons.

DSVRT coordinator in the state, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said yesterday: “Since the lockdown, we have seen an increase in reporting on our hotline – 08137960048. We have added two other lines to compliment the existing hotline with trained personnel.

Vivour-Adeniyi said the development has also made them to move their services online to combat the trend. “We have been attending to clients via social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp among others.”

On issue of domestic violence, Vivour-Adeniyi added that they have been leveraging on conference calls to mediate between parties, and that so far, it has proven helpful in certain cases. She said survivors who believe they are at risk were encouraged to go to a safe place or to a relative or friend’s place during this period.

She added that on the other hand, the MIRABEL Centre at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja and Women At Risk International Foundation (WARIF) were equally encouraged to provide essential medical and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual violence during this period of lockdown.