Action Health Incorporated (AHI), a non-governmental organisation on youth forum health service, has voiced its opinion on sexual violence in Iwaya, a Lagos community.
According to the organisation, it has been a headache following the research carried out among the people of the community, this came out in a community dialogue organised by the organisation on Friday, 10th march 2017, at Iwaya health centre, Yaba Lagos.
The organisation whose findings is got from seeking people’s opinion in the community said, sexual harassment is caused by poor parental care, greediness, bad companion, poverty and illiteracy and this has caused a serious headache to Iwaya community and Lagos in general.
The programme which welcomes guests from different area in the community to voiced their opinion on sexual violence and seeks for a way out, one of the stakeholder of Action Health Incorporated (AHI), Chief L.A Baba Oba in his opinion said, we have had several cases where young girls give birth without their parents knowing about it and I want to believe that if pregnancy can be hidden all girls will get pregnant.
He highlighted some key elements to tackle in other to stop sexual violence such as fear of God, drunkenness, family background, abortion agencies and lastly ignorance.
One of the guests representing the DPO at Iwaya police station, Mrs Ayedun Muibat, said whoever encounter sexual harassment should report the case that the police will always assist them and also people should see the police as their friend and also parents should always educate their children in other to put an end to sexual violence in the community.
Also present at the programme is Mrs. Ireti Badejo from Health Education Officer Lagos state, said parents should always take their children as their immediate friend that if anything should happen to them be it at home or schools, their parents will always be the first person they will discuss it with and they should always pay attention to whatever their children discuss with them.
She concluded her discussion by saying people should always come to them for health related issues that the organisation will always offer their assistance.
One of the participants at the programme also observed that the exposure of young children to social networking site such as Facebook contributed to sexual harassment in the community and hereby urged the parents to be careful and monitor their children in what they exposed themselves to in other to stop sexual violence.
The organisation in its findings observed that sexual harassment is caused by parental care, greediness, bad companion, poverty and illiteracy. They hereby implore parents to always caution their children whenever they take any step to in other to stop sexual violence.
Conclusively, media person to AHI, Bukoye Oluwafunsho said: “People need to change their views on indecent dressing by girls as a way of luring men to harass them sexually that a lot of cases happened and it’s not the way the victim dress that caused it and for something like this to stop in our society people need to change their orientation.”
She, however, urged people to be agents of change to the society and always seek to educate people in a polite and appropriate manner whenever they see anything bad or strange in the youth.