In line with the mandate of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the
Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) in
partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Primary Health Care
Board at the weekend launched the Sexual Assault Standing Order and
Sexual Assault Evidence Examination Kit, also referred to as rape kits.
Coordinator of the DSVRT, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi said the launch
was done at a training session for Health workers of Primary Health Care
Centres.
She listed the five pilot centres to include Ogudu, Ita-elewa in
Ikorodu, Ajilete in Ifako-Ijaiye, Palm Avenue in Mushin and Oshodi in
Oshodi-Isolo.
She said the selection of the pilot PHC’s was methodically done as
statistic reveals that sexual and gender based assault related crimes
are most prevalent in these areas. These centres render 24 hours
service, laboratory, HIV Counselling and Testing, and Maternal and Child
Health Services.
According to her: “the Rape Kits contain the necessary instruments
used for evidence gathering and examination some of which include
microscope slides, saline water, swabs for collecting fluids from
delicate body parts like the lips, cheeks, thighs, private parts.
“The Kit also includes materials for blood samples, comb, paper
sheets for evidence collection such as clothing fibres and hairs, nail
pick for scraping debris from beneath the nails, gloves. The
documentation forms which include the consent form and Patient History/
Sexual Assault History are also in the rape kit.
Mrs. Vivour-Adeniyi said the Lagos State Sexual Assault Standing
Order, the first of its kind in Nigeria, was produced to guide the
provision of health care services as well as set the minimum acceptable
standards for the provision of quality health care to the survivors of
sexual assault.
She expressed optimism that The Standing Order will equip healthcare
providers with tools to facilitate examination, treatment and management
of sexual assault patients.
“The output of this training in terms of knowledge shared with the
workers will ultimately facilitate examination and management of
patients after sexual assault, and also improve the quality and
documentation of evidence collection.
“The protocol response to be adopted is now clearly enumerated, some
of which include taking the survivor/patient to a designated area,
getting the informed consent of the survivor to have the examination,
obtaining the medical history, and then proceeding to collect the
different samples necessary for forensic examination and testing.
The Training was organised by the Lagos DSVRT with technical support
from United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) and FHI 360.
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