Five survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) privately disclosed their experiences during a six-day community sensitization campaign across parts of Iddo Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The outreach, held from 26 to 31 August 2026, was implemented by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and funded by the European Union under its European Union End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (EU ESGBV) initiative.
The campaign reached more than 200 residents in communities including Jiboye, Bode ‘Gbo, Gbekuba, Akufo and parts of the Ibarapa axis. Participants included 55 women, more than 100 people under the age of 18 and 24 elderly men.
Through house-to-house engagements, residents received educational materials designed to improve their understanding of referral channels, legal protections and support services available to survivors of abuse.
Leading the field outreach, Princess Roxanne Bisodun, a member of the EU ESGBV Media Corps, Cohort MO2, called for an end to the culture of treating physical, psychological and sexual abuse as private family matters.
Bisodun urged communities to reject silence around gender-based violence, warning that concealing cases can protect perpetrators while leaving survivors to continue bearing the consequences of abuse.
“Silence protects perpetrators, not survivors. When communities treat sexual and gender-based violence as a private affair, they compound physical trauma with social harm,” she said.
She also highlighted the health and psychological consequences of GBV, stressing the importance of timely medical attention, trauma-informed counselling and safe shelter for survivors.
According to Bisodun, fear of stigma, social rejection and ostracization remains a major barrier preventing many survivors from seeking medical care and other forms of support.
The campaign also provided an opportunity for five survivors to privately share their experiences with the outreach team. Their disclosures were made with informed consent and under strict confidentiality, underscoring the need for sustained grassroots intervention and improved access to Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs).
Community leaders and landlords’ associations subsequently pledged to strengthen their response to abuse by reporting incidents, exposing perpetrators and protecting survivors from further victimization and community backlash.
A major component of the campaign was educating residents about their rights under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, commonly known as the VAPP Law, which was domesticated in Oyo State in 2020.
The law provides legal mechanisms for prosecuting perpetrators of violence, addressing harmful traditional practices and obtaining protection orders for survivors.
Residents were also provided with dedicated NAPTIP toll-free reporting channels for reporting cases involving sexual and gender-based violence, human trafficking and other forms of abuse.
The sensitization further highlighted available support services, including medical and forensic care at designated Sexual Assault Referral Centres and other health facilities. Residents were also informed about services for preventing sexually transmitted infections and treating physical injuries.
Survivors were informed about access to psychosocial support, confidential counselling, safe accommodation and legal assistance provided through NAPTIP and civil society partners.
The EU ESGBV Media Corps, in collaboration with International IDEA, is promoting a community-based advocacy model focused on survivor protection, confidentiality and greater awareness of available support systems.
Residents’ associations in Iddo Local Government Area called for the sensitization exercise to be conducted more regularly, saying sustained community engagement would help strengthen reporting and protection mechanisms.
The campaign ultimately underscored the need for communities to break the culture of silence, strengthen enforcement of the VAPP Law and ensure that survivors can access justice, healthcare and protection without fear of stigma or retaliation.
By Khadijat Omowumi Mustapha
