By Lucky Isibor
The immediate past Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe has said that domestic violence usually occurs between two people who have relationships and living together in the form of marriage, boyfriend and girlfriend or man friend, pointing out that victims are reluctant to report to the appropriate authorities adding that this reluctance pose difficulties in prosecuting offenders.
Professor Omorogbe stated this in a keynote address at the pre- lunch of a book titled “Surviving Domestic Violence in Relation to Laws of Protection in Nigeria,” written by a survivor of domestic violence, Mrs Louisa Eikhonmu-Agbonkhese in collaboration with the Edo State Ministry of Social Development and Gender Issues.
According to the former Attorney General who was represented by Stella Ojemen Esq, a lawyer and an official of the Edo State Ministry of Justice, “many women don’t report domestic violence because they’re reluctant to report their husbands, they’re reluctant to report their boyfriends or their men friends. But that is not in their interest. You can’t continue to remain in an abusive relationship.
“We all know that domestic violence is occasioned by two people who are close and are intimate partners and that makes it difficult to address. The people who are victims depend on the perpetrators either emotionally or financially and usually, they’re in a relationship.”
While noting that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law in Edo State and other extant laws like the Criminal Code and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended made provisions for the protection of women and children, Prof. Omorogbe cautioned that domestic violence should not be classified as a personal problem of the victims as according to her it affects the society and the environment that the victims are domiciled and called for education of men to be at breast with the dangers inherent in domestic violence.
“I want us to know that domestic violence is not just a personal problem, it has to do with the entire society because of the magnitude of the problem and it’s effects on the society. So it’s something that must be taken seriously. We must work to protect women and girls from domestic violence, we must not condone it no matter how subtle it is, no matter how mild it presents itself because it’s something that can destroy an entire society and we must continue to orientate the people around us, particularly the men to know that we cannot continue with that way of life,” she said.
Welcoming guests to the book pre-lunch, author of the book, Mrs Louisa Eikhonmu-Agbonkhese said she decided to document her experiences in an abusive relationship in a book so as to give women undergoing domestic violence opportunity to learn from her experience and speak out. According to her, the book will also be of immense assistance to the media, academia, policy makers, Edo State government, students and researchers.
While thanking Halle Foundation of Netherlands, Shelter City, Groningen and Justice and Peace of Netherlands for financing the publication of the book, Louisa said copies of the book are not available yet adding they’ll be available by the end of December or early January 2021 while it’s lunching will hold in March 2021 in commemoration of the International Women’s Day.
In a good will message, a lecturer in the University of Benin, Dr. (Mrs.) Esther Jamgbadi said women are not the only victims of domestic violence as some women who are better off than their husbands also violate their spouses.
She called for a reversal to our traditional values as according to her research has shown that domestic violence is predominant in monogamous marriages as the act is not common in polygamous homes.
Welcoming guests to the venue at the premises of the Ministry of Social Development and Gender Issues, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Pastor (Mrs) Dorcas Idehen assured women and victims of domestic violence of the ministry’s support and urged them to always seek help from the ministry when the need arises.
In her remarks, the chairperson, National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) Edo State chapter, Mrs. Adesuwa Ehimuan urged women in abusive relationships to seek help, to share their concerns with their friends and confidants and develop escape strategy to facilitate their escape when danger looms.
High point of the event was the pre-review of the book by Emmanuel Oribhabor Esq. and reading of excerpts of the book.
