Appolonia Adeyemi 
Access to justice has been identified as a major factor that has the capacity to end the culture of gender-based violence (GBV) in Africa including Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi who made this observation, has also called on various governments in Africa to demonstrate needed commitment and political will to address GBV in their countries.
She made the call in Lagos recently when a delegation from Spotlight Initiative paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos State DSVA and the Virtual Response Services Centre at the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).
The courtesy call was part of The Spotlight Initiative in Africa’s 2nd Annual Review and Learning Workshop, which was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja from August 22 to 23.
The Spotlight Initiative is a global partnership between the UN, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU) to end violence against women and girls, specifically: female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage, and other harmful practices.
The workshop which was organized by the UNFPA, brought together government officials, civil society representatives, and development partners from across Africa to discuss progress made in implementing the Spotlight Initiative and identify new ways to accelerate progress.
The courtesy visit created the opportunity for the visiting team to see, firsthand, where and how the Lagos State Agencies provide response services and support for victims and survivors of GBV.
While calling for increased access to justice for the victims, Vivour-Adeniyi reasoned that one of the reasons why victims of GBV remain silent is because they do not believe that they can access justice.
On the contrary, she said, “If perpetrators are held accountable and justice takes its course, we want that to serve as a deterrent and help us to end the culture of GBV.”
While calling for an appropriate penalty for perpetrators, commitment, and political will from governments and civil society groups, Vivour-Adeniyi stated that the actualization of “these demands drives our capacity to respond. We want justice and want governments to own the programmes.
“It is part of our purpose and we need to ensure we provide quality services to survivors. We need political will to win this war and ultimately survivors must be able to access justice when they do report.”
On her part, the Spotlight Initiative National Coordinator, Anu V. John explained that the reason for the courtesy call is for the team to see where the real work of providing response for victims and survivors, takes place.
“Whoever comes in to provide support works on the programme to a certain level but when the government makes it part of its own programme, that is what we see here.
“The government should be so committed to take this forward. Putting in every effort to ensure that the services they are offering works wonders for the span of time they go on.”
John said the United Nations (UN) agency will be supporting the government to prioritize areas that require help. “Everything is not about financial commitments; it’s also about working together as strategic partners in order to deliver some of the impacts that we need to see on the ground to reach people who really need these services.
“The government needs to leverage their own findings and support other groups in terms of the learning. They have to bring all these different actors together.”
In addition, the Virtual Case Manager, who spoke anonymously, said he and others manning the call centre at LASEMA render help to so many people without necessarily having to be at the scene of the GBV incidents.
“At the same time, we can help some people when they don’t want to go to the police, maybe just giving them psycho-social support. That’s a service.
“Getting the feedback from these people gives us a sense of fulfillment that we are doing something right.”
According to him, the Lagos State Government provides special training most times and does refresher courses to further equip officials at the call centre, to enable them to manage cases of domestic and sexual violence.
“In my personal space and in my relationship with people I have been able to get better and I pay more attention to details around domestic violence.
“So many things happen but when we don’t listen properly or pay attention to details, there are so many things that might go missing.”
