Mrs. Bolanle Ambode (Image source: Google)

The wife of Lagos State governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, has commiserated with all victims of domestic violence and their families, urging any woman going through domestic violence to approach the state’s Office of the Public Defender, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Youth & Social Development or the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation for legal assistance at no cost.

According to Mrs. Ambode, a situation where a man would callously turn his wife to a punching bag on the flimsy excuse that the helpless woman had either insulted him or refused to carry out his orders was intolerable.

In her own words: “How do you explain a situation where the man you married and one who claims to love you, would descend so heavily on you at the slightest provocation. If he is not complaining about delayed dinner, it is another flimsy excuse that is not tenable anywhere.

They do it every now and then even to the extent of killing the helpless woman. For how long will this go on? Many victims of domestic violence become victims of their own psychological realities. The world of these women is lonely, isolated and filled with fear, with no emotional outlet whatsoever. Sadly, victims wait until it is too late.”

She decried society’s apathy to victims of domestic abuse. According to her, as a society, we should cease to treat cases of domestic violence as ‘family affairs’. And she also stated that the patriarchal nature of society and harmful cultural values are to be re-evaluated to curb this growing epidermic of domestic violence. She concluded that domestic violence should not merely be viewed as a social/family problem but rather handled as an important criminal justice issue.