The Lagos State Bureau of Statistics has urged Non-Governmental Organizations in the state to share data of their interventions on Domestic and Sexual Violence with the Bureau.
The charge was given at a round table meeting with Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, DSVRT and NGOs for the purpose of creating harmonized data on domestic and sexual violence cases in Lagos State, a project supported by Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (ROLAC) Programme of the British Council.
While giving her presentation at the meeting, Head of Data Bank at LBS, Mrs. Ojo Olayinka said it is important for the NGOs to have harmonized data so that their interventions can be recognized and make it easy for people to access their services.
Mrs. Ojo also noted that the availability of data helps the government to have the right information to work with and provide adequate support for the NGOs.
She buttressed that NGOs should not be discouraged to report little or no data because that will help in strategizing and providing the necessary support.
“Ensure you report the cases no matter how little, ‘zero’ is data, the accumulation of data at the end of the year would definitely convey a message and help to know the next line of action. Peradventure people are not reporting the cases or you’re in a wrong location.
“The whole essence is to ensure that the government and all stakeholders take the necessary actions and if there’s no platform to measure where the challenges are, it would be impossible to provide adequate solutions”, she added.
Earlier, Mrs. Ajibola Ejimakinwa, Lagos State Coordinator of ROLAC explained that the programme is aimed at improving access to justice for women, children and Persons with disabilities, hence the need to have a central database through the template that was designed.
Ejimakinwa lamented that since the data template has been designed for almost one year, it is just few NGOs that have submitted their data, she urged all NGOs present to submit the data so that the ultimate goal can be achieved.
Among the NGOs that have submitted their data on Domestic and Sexual Violence cases to the bureau are; African Women Lawyers, Bimbo Odukoya Foundation, CEEHOPE Nigeria, Community Women Rights Foundation, DCR, DSVRT, OPD, WAPA and Women Law and Development Centre.
