Minister of Women Affairs, Dame. Pauline Tallen OFR, KSG has affirmed that domestic violence is the third leading cause of homelessness in families, urging unified action against culprits. The Minister who stated this yesterday at a workshop on domestic violence for wives of state governors and women in leadership in the north, organised by Prime Unique Women Initiative (PUWI) in partnership with her ministry in Abuja.
According to Tallen, the issue of domestic violence could not be over-flogged, as it kept increasing by the day, leaving victims either traumatised or even dead.
“Curbing domestic violence requires the concerted efforts of all stakeholders. Who better leads this conversation than women leaders who double as mothers in their states?
“Statistics has it that domestic violence is the third leading cause of homelessness among families and that every nine seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten,” she said.
The minister lamented that seven million children live in families where severe partner violence occurred, while more than three million witness domestic violence in their homes.
Domestic violence, she said, can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, culture,income or other factors; hence the urgency for all stakeholders to expose perpetrators of the act to face the wrath of the law.
“It became really worrisome at the onset of the Coronavirus Disease when there was a spike in the reported cases of domestic violence. I wonder about the unreported cases, and on a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls to domestic violence hotlines nationwide,” she said.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Anthonia Ekpa. PhD called for critical look on the issues of domestic violence, noting that it does not end with bothering or sexual assults against women.
Ekpa opined that, how another woman treats a fellow woman speaks volumes and can bring about pshycological imbalance in a woman’s life. While welcoming participants to brainstorm and profer solutions to end this ugly trend of domestic violence, attention must be how a woman treats another woman be it in the family, work place and society at large.
High point of the event was good will message from First lady of Nassarawa State, Hajia Salifat Sule, the representative of the first Lady of Benue state, Mrs. Tabitha Atoato Igirgi, Hon. Commissioner for Women Affairs Benue State. The Permanent Secretary Women Affairs, Kwara state who represented the First Lady of Kwara amongst others.
Convener of the workshop, Dr. Folake Yobah, explained that women, children and, sometimes, men fall victim to domestic violence; hence the workshop sought to proffer solutions.