Children must learn how to prevent abuse — and the Lagos govt wants to teach them

The Lagos state government says it will be embarking on a series of event to educate the public, including children, on sexual and gender based violence in the country.

The series of event will hold in commemoration of the 16 days of activism to end all forms of violence against women and children.

The implementer of the event, the Lagos state Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), will partner with Access Bank to hold a workshop and a symposium on preventing violence against women and children.

In a statement on Sunday, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, DSVRT coordinator, said the workshop is themed: ‘Safeguarding The Rights For A Child’, and the symposium tagged ‘It’s On You And I To End Violence Against Women  And Children’.

She said the workshop would “focus on children within the region of primary 3 and 6, saying this became imperative in view of the recent statistics which revealed that children within this age range were most vulnerable as regards falling prey to sex predators”.

“Over 1,500 children drawn from both public and private schools in the mainland, Eti- Osa and Apapa axis of the state would receive age appropriate sex education, tips on being sensitive about their body parts, and also a critical education on how to detect and avoid the process of grooming which is a process most predators adopt,” Vivour-Adeniyi said.

“It is our utmost desire that after the program, children would be better informed on their rights, red flags to look out for, and relevant self defence tips. They would also receive relevant materials and contact numbers to call to report any child abuse case.”

She said the symposium, tagged ‘It’s On You And I To End Violence Against Women  And Children’, would hold at Access Bank head office, Victoria Island, Lagos.

“We are confident that after these events, there would be an increased level of awareness on how to prevent the occurrence of these crimes, steps to take to report and renewed commitment from members of the society on their role in ridding this menace out of our society,” Vivour-Adeniyi said.