Lagos State Government has said 89 men reported that they were battered by their wives in cases of domestic violence between 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Cecilia Bolaji Dada, made this known at a ministerial news conference to mark the second year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in office, in Lagos state on Tuesday.
According to the commissioner, 46 men confirmed their wives had violated them to the ministry in 2020.
Dada went on to say that 43 men reported being battered by their wives in the first quarter of 2021, bringing the number to 89 in less than two years.
She explained that the number only included cases that were reported to WAPA, and that some cases were reported directly to the Ministry of Justice and police station, which the ministry might not be aware of.
She stated;
The figures captured only cases reported to WAPA even though some cases were reported directly to the Ministry of Justice and police station of which the ministry might not be aware of. This is just to let people know that men go through domestic violence too only that their own cases don’t make headlines.
The Commissioner added;
Whether it’s a man or woman, we condemn this issue of domestic violence in its entirety and hope that people who go through such abuse learn to speak up on time before it’s too late.
Also, a total of 664 women had domestic violence cases against their husbands in Lagos in the past year, according to cases reported at WAPA.
Additionally, in 2020, 378 women were raped by their husbands, according to the commissioner, while 286 women were battered by their husbands in the first quarter of 2021.
