Domestic violence: Lagos laments silence of molested men

Lagos State government on Tuesday lamented the silence of men molested by their wives, saying it has aided an increase in sexual and gender based violence in the state.

Commissioner for Women and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Mrs Lola Akande, raised concern at a press briefing which took place at the Bagauda Kalto Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, disclosing that a project tagged, ‘Ewuro Project,’ being packaged through drama series, would be used to orientate residents of Lagos on negative impact of domestic violence.

According to Akande, men molested by their wives were not speaking out, saying the development had often left them with psychological impact that affected their marriages.

Giving reason for their silence, the commissioner said, “Men have a lot of ego and they want to often be seen as the head of the family. So they try to remain silent. And that was why we have encouraged them to speak out whenever they are molested by their spouse.”

She noted that the state government was not only protecting women, saying “any men molested by his wife would also be protected by the government. But the reason it looked as if the government often speak about women was that they are the most affected.”

Speaking further, Akande said that one in every four women experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse by their husband, pointing out that it was observed that there was high prevalence of violence against children from the findings on survey conducted in Lagos State in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“From the findings on survey conducted in Lagos State in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), it was observed that there is high prevalence of violence against children.

“Approximately, six out of every children experience some form of violence while half of all children experience physical violence, while one in four girls and one in 10 boys experience sexual violence in the country,” she said.