Lagos State Government has recorded high rate of domestic violence in the year under review. Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA, Bolaji Cecilia Dada, made this known during the ongoing 2024 Ministerial Press Briefing, where she said a total of 662 cases were received in the last one year and 88 cases were referred.

She said, “On domestic violence, from 2023 to date, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation received a total of 662 cases, out of which 592 were women and 70 were men. We also referred 88 cases to the Office of the Public Defender, OPD.

“The purple project was initiated by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation under the domestic violence unit on September 30, 2022, in collaboration with Lagos State Emergency Management Agency to respond to issues of sexual and gender-based violence. The goal of the project is to respond and refer cases of SGBV that are reported through the Lagos state emergency toll free 767.

“The purple project is also collaborating with the Ministry of Youth and Social Development and Head of Department WAPA at the local government level. The main aim of this project is to enable prompt response to cases of gender-based violence coming from the grassroots level.” 

The Commissioner also noted that the ministry has empowered about 10,385 indigenes and vulnerable women through several initiatives across the state. She also noted that most of the families of slain heroes of the Nigerian Legion were captured in the empowerment programme. 

Dada also noted that 1,500 men and women have participated in the short-term skill acquisition programme in the last one year.

“It is an intervention programme aimed to equip the desiring citizenry with different vocational skills that will enhance their economic value and foster self-reliance, “ she stated.