INSIDEMAINLAND – The Lagos State government announced a digital application to address incidences of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence through its Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) on Tuesday.
Titilola Viviour-Adeniyi, Executive Secretary of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), said the platform would ensure that cases were managed effectively during the unveiling of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Case Management System (DSVCMS).
Despite all of its difficulties, Ms. Viviour-Adeniyi claimed that the COVID epidemic offered an opportunity for service providers and the government to reflect internally, spot systemic gaps, and rethink how to improve service delivery.
She claimed that the Joint EU-UN Spotlight effort supported the state government due to the requirement to standardize response processes in Lagos State.
“The support was provided through the development of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Unified Response Protocol and Referral Pathway Document (the first of its kind in Nigeria) and was ratified in 2021,” she said.
She said that a portion of the funding was allocated for the creation of a web portal and mobile (Android and iOS) case management application.
According to Ms. Viviour-Adeniyi, sexual and gender-based abuse cases are now handled and managed manually from beginning to end.
“This slows down the process of providing services, especially as sexual and gender-based violence responders are duty-bound to respond to incidents timeously.
“By virtue of the DSVCMS, we would be able to attend to cases, make necessary referrals to responder agencies, and manage cases digitally, thereby optimizing our operational efficiency.
“In essence, DSVCMS digitalizes management of cases, end to end, across the relevant responder agencies,” she said.
Ms. Viviour-Adeniyi stated that the app would make it easier to follow up on instances and ensure that all relevant responder agencies, such as the police, hospitals, social services, and non-governmental organizations, could carry out their functions as effectively as possible.
She noted that technology was advancing quickly, and it was necessary to use a system with technological know-how to report or handle instances because doing so on other social media platforms could jeopardize the secrecy that was crucial to responding to SGBV.
Yinka Akhibu of the UN Residents Coordinator Office in his goodwill letter thanked the Lagos State government for launching the digital platform to address sexual and gender-based violence.
