Former National Vice-President ‘Zone-D’, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs Veronica Ogbole, on Sunday decried the increasing rate of domestic violence during the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) induced lockdown.
Ogbole expressed her concern in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia.
According to her, some women groups have started raising alarm in various state on the spate of domestic violence since the lockdown began.
The veteran journalist who was also a former Chairman, NAWOJ, Nassarawa Chapter, said the development could be as a result of idleness and lack of money to cater for the family needs.
”The lockdown has seen families spending more time together and also has led to increase in domestic violence.
“When couples occupy themselves with hobbies such as reading, writing or anything that give them joy, it would go a long way to reducing tendencies of being provoked easily,” she said.
Ogbole said that most men who beat up their wives have low self-esteem or must have grown up seeing their parents perpetrating such acts.
“Couples should learn to control their emotions and temper in order to avert domestic violence as it has unexplainable hardship on families especially on children.
”Some children could be traumatised by the aftermath and will require counseling and psychologist help to live a normal life,” she said.
Ogbole also decried the poor representation of women in government at all levels.
She appealed to Governors to consider more women in their cabinet and other strategic appointments to enable them contribute their quota to governance.
She also said that priority should be given to vulnerable women in the distribution of palliative to cushion the effects of the lockdown occassioned by COVID-19 pandemic.(NAN).
