Prof. Olufunlayo Bammeke

I am a professor of Sociology with primary interests in gender and development and child/youth studies, especially abuse and deprivation. For three decades, I have been committed to research and community efforts geared towards minimising, and ultimately eliminating gender inequality and inequity in major social institutions. Through scientific research, I have sought to understand the propensity to perpetrate violence against vulnerable persons and the possibility of victimization. I have demystified harmful norms that provoke and sustain violence against persons, especially children and women. In collaboration with colleagues in Ghana, South Africa and the USA, I have examined cross cultural differences in beliefs about relationship violence against women with a view to recommending culture-specific measures that will minimise the incidence of gender-based violence towards intimate partners and other persons. In extending my research and scholarship to the town, I have collaborated with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) in its effort to ensure appropriate and holistic response to the multifaceted needs of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Lagos State. I also continue to engage in mentoring young girls to identify and demystify harmful norms that perpetrate gender inequality and undermine the development efforts of governments and non-governmental organizations.