The Lagos State Government, through the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), has held group therapy sessions for over 50 male perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Titilola Vivour Adeniyi, Executive Secretary, Lagos State DSVA, stated at the Novel House Office in Alausa Ikeja that the intervention program’s goal was to improve the mental well-being of the state’s citizens.
According to the agency’s statistical data research results, there has been an alarming upsurge in occurrences of sexual and gender-based violence.
She stated that the purpose of the support and healing group session was to psychoeducate the perpetrators on better methods to handle their emotions when triggered.
Further research, according to Vivour-Adeniyi, found that most offenders were victims of comparable traumas as children, and there was a need to help perpetrators heal from childhood traumas that may have contributed to their abusive behavior in adulthood.
She went on to say that the sessions would hold abusers accountable and force them to accept responsibility for their actions rather than blaming their victims.
She went on to say that the session would help perpetrators relearn harmful negative coping strategies that had previously led to violence and equip them with healthy coping skills to regulate their anger, communicate effectively, and establish peaceful and harmonious relationships.
It should be noted that the program began on June 10 and ended on August 9. The meetings were held weekly for eight weeks, and at the end, the culprits expressed gratitude to the Lagos State Government for the sessions.
Mrs. Vivour-Adeniyi assured survivors that the sessions would continue, especially those who wanted to stay in the relationship but wanted the abuse to cease.
