APPRAISAL OF THE DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE ACT OF LAGOS STATE

Domestic and sexual violence are twin societal vices that have ravaged humanity since the beginning of time. The consequences of sexual and domestic violence on victims, their families and friends is devastating that is why laws and institutions are created to prevent and protect the victims of domestic and sexual abuse. In Nigeria, particularly in Lagos, domestic and sexual violence seem to be on the rise with statistics showing high numbers of victims, especially women and children. These necessitated review of the legal and institutional framework for prohibition of domestic and sexual violence in Lagos state, to determine their adequacy or otherwise in protecting and punishing domestic and sexual violence offenders. Doctrinal research methodology, which is desk or library research based approach that involved reviewing the law itself and scholarly analysis of it in articles, as well as texts and other material on the subject matter was deployed in this study, to aid analysis of domestic and sexual violence laws of Lagos State. While analyzing the legal and institutional framework for prohibition of domestic and sexual violence, it is discovered that several challenges like paucity of funds and inadequate training hinders effective implementation of the domestic and sexual violence laws in Lagos State. The study argued that unless changes are made, effective prevention and protection of domestic and sexual abuse victims would not be achieved. Therefore, the study recommends that there should be adequate funding, training of staff and awareness campaigns at schools and public places to expose the danger of the domestic and sexual violence that will help in tackling the abuse.