Lagos initiates app to combat domestic and sexual violence

A digital application was introduced by the Lagos State Government on Tuesday to combat incidences of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence in the city.

The Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency was in charge of the reveal (DSVA).

At the introduction of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Case Management System (DSVCMS), Executive Secretary, DSVA, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi stated that the platform would guarantee that cases were managed effectively.

According to her, the 2020 COVID pandemic and its associated difficulties provide an opportunity for service providers and the state to reflect internally, uncover systemic gaps, and rethink how to improve service delivery.

She claimed that the Joint EU-UN Spotlight project supported the Lagos State Government due to the requirement to standardize response processes in Lagos State.

According to Vivour-Adeniyi, the assistance was given through the creation of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Unified Response Protocol and Referral Pathway Document, which was approved in 2021 and is the first of its type in Nigeria.

She added that at the time, addressing and managing cases of sexual and gender-based violence from beginning to end was done manually and that part of the help was going towards the development of a case management mobile application that was both mobile (Android and IOS) and web portal.

According to Vivour-Adeniyi, manual processes were used for everything from filling out complaint forms to printing referral letters to other referral/responder organizations, dispatching letters, and following up on instances.

According to her, “this, therefore, 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 optimising our operational efficiency.

”In essence, DSVCMS digitalises management of cases, end to end, across the relevant responder agencies.”

She continued by saying that appropriate responder agencies could enter case information and update information on actions taken with the push of a button.

According to Vivour-Adeniyi, the ecosystem as a whole would have access to this information, improving transparency and accountability.

The Executive Secretary went on to say that the app will make it easier to follow up on situations and guarantee that all relevant responder organizations, such as the police, hospitals, social services, and alliance non-governmental organizations, could carry out their functions as best as possible.

Since the world is rapidly changing, she claimed, it was necessary to use a technologically advanced system to report or handle situations because other social media platforms could jeopardize the anonymity that was crucial to react to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

According to Yinka Akhibu, a representative of the UN Resident Coordinator Office, moving digital was a new and more effective method of working and that the state should embrace it because the rest of the world was doing so.

Mr. Lawal Rasheed, a statistician with the Lagos Bureau of Statistics, stated at a lecture on the role of stakeholders in data keeping that managing data was necessary since it saved time.

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