Group seeks South-West states’ collaboration to bridge GBV gaps

The Executive Director of the Balm in Gilead Foundation for Sustainable Development, Tumininu Adedeji, has called for collaboration among Southwest states to address gaps in gender-based violence prevention and response, saying coordination, consistency, and system effectiveness remain major challenges across the region.

Adedeji made the call on Monday in Ado Ekiti during a one-day Inter-State Consultative Dialogue on GBV Prevention and Response, themed “Strengthening Women’s Rights Organisations in Nigeria for GBV Prevention.”

The dialogue was organised by BIGIF in partnership with the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement and the Ford Foundation.

She said that although efforts to respond to GBV had been increasing across Lagos, Ekiti, Osun, Ondo, Oyo, and Ogun states, gaps in coordination and system effectiveness persisted.

“Survivors still face barriers in accessing timely quality services, and too often, responses are limited. This underscores the urgent need for stronger collaboration and knowledge sharing among states so that we can have people talk about what works within their states and what is not working so that we can identify gaps and then discuss the way forward,” she said.

Adedeji stressed the importance of evidence-based programming in GBV response, saying: “Our strategies, interventions and advocacy must be informed by evidence, lived experiences and the realities from the field.”

The Ekiti State Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Gbemiga Adaramola, described the project as a necessary response to a persistent crisis.

“We are here to move from reactive sorrow to proactive strategy. GBV is not a private wound, it is a public failure of systems, coordination and will. Every survivor who is silenced, every perpetrator who walks free, and every referral centre that lacks resources represents a gap we must collectively seal,” he said.

Adaramola commended BIGIF for bringing Ondo and Ekiti states together as collaborators, saying GBV knows no boundaries and its prevention must transcend bureaucratic lines.

“By shar ing what works in our Sexual Assault Referral Centres, our courts and our community engagements, we build a regional shield for our women and girls,” he said.

He charged participants to leave the dialogue with a clearer understanding of their roles, a concrete commitment to cross-state collaboration, and the courage to hold themselves accountable.

The National Human Rights Commission State Coordinator, Oluwapomile Sodeinde, highlighted the commission’s efforts in reducing GBV through sensitisation, advocacy, and direct intervention.

He also stressed the need for the Ekiti State Government to strengthen its response systems, particularly by investing more in the Moremi Clinic.

“The SARC in Ekiti State needs more personnel, expert support and equipment. For instance, forensic test kits are essential for immediate testing and to ensure that victims receive prompt and effective treatment,” he said.

BIGIF Programmes Officer, Ayomiposi Ogundipe, said similar dialogues would be held for Osun, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states, and that the Ondo-Ekiti session had produced an action plan that participants would follow up on.

She noted that Ondo State currently lacks a Sexual Assault Referral Centre, and said stakeholders from the state had committed to addressing the gap.

“Our aim is to ensure that the GBV response is not a location thing but a regional success,” she said.

Gender-based violence remains one of Nigeria’s most pervasive social challenges, affecting women and girls across all geopolitical zones and socio-economic groups.

The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, signed into law in 2015, provides a comprehensive legal framework for addressing GBV at the federal level, criminalising sexual violence, domestic abuse, stalking, and other harmful practices.