Abuja: Nigeria has deployed its first standardised justice sector platform for tracking cases of violence against women, aiming to close long-standing gaps in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) data and accountability. The platform was unveiled during a five-day national validation and capacity-building workshop to review and validate the reporting tools, strengthen reporting standards, and build the technical capacity of SGBV desk officers.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the platform, developed by the Federal Ministry of Justice, is being operationalised to report cases from the point of reporting to resolution. It is a European Union-funded support project to the End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (ESGBV) Programme in Nigeria, implemented by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). Mrs. Melissa Omene, GBV Policy and Strategy Development Specialist, ESGBV Programme, International IDEA, stated that the platform is expected to provide justice institutions across the country with a single system for tracking reported cases. It will also aid in prosecutions, convictions, and pending matters while generating reliable data for policy and accountability.
Omene noted that Nigeria had made progress in establishing laws, policies, and institutions to address violence against women and girls, but challenges remain in implementation, accountability, and monitoring. An assessment of the implementation, enforcement, and operationalisation of SGBV frameworks in the FCT, Benue, Kaduna, and Oyo States, involving 112 respondents across 32 institutions, identified fragmented data systems. The absence of a coordinated justice-sector reporting mechanism was highlighted as a significant weakness, with institutions collecting data using different tools, methodologies, and reporting standards, complicating the generation of a comprehensive national picture.
The National GBV Dashboard recorded 4,449 cases of gender-based violence in the first half of 2023, and more than 19,000 cases since its launch in 2020. However, only a fraction resulted in convictions, with many cases closed without resolution or stalled within the justice system. The new reporting system aims to enable ministries of justice at both federal and state levels to generate standardised data and monitor the implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act and relevant laws, thereby strengthening national accountability processes.
Mr. Agharinma Ehiedu, National Consultant, VAW Reporting System, International IDEA, explained that the platform addresses the lack of a central ecosystem for violence-against-women data in Nigeria. The platform centralises data collection for uniformity and provides justice institutions with full visibility of reported cases nationwide, eliminating the need for state-specific statistics. It will also offer the public an avenue to report cases, with the information routed to the appropriate state desk officer for follow-up.
Mrs. Yewande Gbola-Awopetu, Head of the SGBV Unit at the Federal Ministry of Justice, emphasized the importance of maintaining accurate, complete, and timely records to achieve the platform’s purpose. The National Human Rights Commission and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons have recorded significant numbers of SGBV cases, yet challenges like inadequate evidence documentation persist.
Ms. Shirley Atane, Special Assistant, Gender and Vulnerable Persons, Office of the Attorney-General of Ekiti State, highlighted the state’s progress in responding to gender-based violence due to political will and strong legal frameworks. However, she identified funding as a major challenge, calling for increased budgetary allocation and support to translate existing laws and policies into practical interventions for survivors.