Five survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) have privately disclosed their experiences during a six-day community sensitization campaign carried out across parts of Iddo Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The outreach, which held from August 26 to 31, 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 young people below the age of 18 and 24 elderly men.
Through house-to-house engagements, residents received educational materials aimed at helping community members understand available referral channels, legal protections and support services for 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 issues.
Bisodun said communities must reject silence around gender-based violence, noting that concealing cases often leaves perpetrators protected while survivors continue to suffer.
“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 her, fear of stigma, social rejection and ostracization remains a major obstacle preventing many survivors from seeking medical 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, made with informed consent and under strict confidentiality, underscored 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 cases of 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 through which they could report cases involving sexual and gender-based violence, human trafficking and other forms of abuse.
The sensitization further drew attention to available support services, including medical and forensic care at designated Sexual Assault Referral Centres and other health facilities, as well as services for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and treatment of physical injuries.
Survivors were also 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 increased 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 stressed that tackling sexual and gender-based violence requires 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.
Khadijat Omowumi Mustapha
