Funke Busari, Lagos
The Lagos State government is leaving no stone unturned as it has concluded training of teachers through its partners, Cece Yara Foundation and the Rise Up Project across Lagos State on the important roles of teachers as mandatory Reporters in preventing child sexual abuse especially as it relates to reporting child molestation/abuse cases.
This intervention was the focus of a week-long online sessions that held between August 12-20, 2020.
The advocacy groups in partnership with Lagos State government focused on implementing the Lagos State Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, LSCPP, at the training.
The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Education represented by the Commissioner of Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo in her opening remark stressed that the training was right in time as cases of child sexual abuses had been rising during the period of the COVID-19 lockdown.
She further stated that the Lagos State Government as well as the Ministry of Education is committed to working with teachers and counsellors to ensure that child protection is effectively implemented in schools as child protection is fundamental to the development of every child, a statement by Esther Osunro Program Coordinator the Cece Yara Foundation and the Rise Up Project stated.
The statement buttressed that the LSCPP, a constellation of different legal frameworks such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Child’s Right Act 2003, Lagos State Child Right Law 2015, the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011 and other similar legal frameworks provides policies in the best interest of the child as against such things as the reputation of the perpetrator or the reputation of the family involved.
Thus Cece Yara Foundation Executive Director, Grace Ketefe and Assistant Director, Olabisi Ajaiyi Kayode took participants through the policy and gave useful tips on the best ways to implement the policy in schools.
They harped on the important tips to note:
i. Having a designated senior staff in charge of Child sexual abuses cases. This staff would be in charge of ensuring everything is in place to safeguard the children as stipulated in the LSCPP. This includes making changes along with updates to the LSCPP
ii. Child protection must be integrated into the on-boarding of any new recruits into schools.
iii. Give children confidence and assurance that they can confide in us
iv. Have the child abused contacts on your speed dial
v. Record facts of case as quickly as possible
