An international humanitarian organization, Denorsemen Kclub International (DNKI) has callled for a united and concerted action against violence against women.
The group also urged women who suffered any form of violence to speak out, saying that incidents were on the rise because of the culture of silence among the female folk.
Lagos State Chapter of DNKI otherwise known as Sancta Tamandu MP, stated this in a solidarity message to women in commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD).
A statement jointly signed by the chapter’s Chairman, Charles Ubani and the Public Relations Officer, Pius Ogwuilu, described women as the pillars and conscience of the society.
The group said that the DNKI having ‘Service to Humanity’ as its motto, could not join in marking the International Women’s Day without confronting the stark realities of women and girl children being disadvantaged in the Nigerian society.
“A peer-reviewed study of women in Lagos found that 73.3% had experienced at least one form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, and yet research confirms that only 1% of those affected ever report it to the police. These two figures, read together, tell a story that no society ought to accept: that violence against women is not rare, and that silence around it is very nearly absolute. These are not distant statistics. They describe women in our streets, our markets, our homes, and our communities.
“Domestic violence is among the gravest of these violations. It is sustained by silence and by the dangerous misconception that what occurs within a home is a private matter. It is not. Women are abused, physically, emotionally, and economically, within the very spaces that ought to offer them the greatest safety, and that reality demands a collective response. Every family, every community, and every institution bears a responsibility to stand in visible and active support of the women around them, to create conditions in which women feel safe to speak, and to ensure they are believed when they do.
“Sancta Tamandu MP equally calls upon government to sustain and deepen its commitment to the welfare of women: to fund shelters and safe havens, to resource survivor support services, to invest in public education, and to ensure that every woman who reaches out for help is met with a hand that is ready to receive her. A society that protects its women is a society that protects itself.
“To every woman reading these words, in joy or in struggle, Sancta Tamandu MP sees you. Your dignity is inviolable. Your wellbeing is of the highest importance. And it is our enduring honour, in the spirit of service to humanity, to stand in full solidarity with you, today and always,” the group stated.