Abuja: The 2025 Womanity Index report (WIR) has unveiled that Nigeria’s average spending on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response in 2024 was a mere N365 per woman and girl.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the report, undertaken by Invictus Africa, a non-governmental organization, was released in Abuja as part of an initiative to measure state governments’ performances in tackling GBV. The report assesses efforts across five core indicators, including laws and policies, access to legal justice, support services, information and awareness, and budget and spending.
Ms. Bukky Shonibare, Executive Director at Invictus Africa, criticized the insufficient funding, describing it as inadequate to address the widespread violence affecting women and girls in the country. She highlighted a slight increase in spending from N310.89 in 2023 and N213.27 in 2022, with Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa recording the highest spending per capita, while Rivers and Anambra reported the lowest. Shonibare pointed out that declining budget performance and minimal allocations to women’s affairs ministries contribute to reduced awareness and limited access to justice for survivors.
The report notes that despite the increase in states providing GBV-specific budget lines from 25 in 2023 to 31 in 2024, the problem lies in the release and actual spending of allocated funds. The average allocation to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is 0.6 percent, with only Borno State allocating 2.3 percent of its total budget to its Women Affairs Ministry. Shonibare emphasized the need for specific GBV budget lines, timely release of funds, and proper expenditure tracking to ensure effective GBV response.
Dr. Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye, Regional Director for West Africa at the Ford Foundation, called for reliance on accurate data and increased domestic funding to effectively tackle GBV. She emphasized the importance of the Womanity Index in providing detailed, state-level information on GBV progress and budget impacts, urging states to take more responsibility.
Mrs. Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Co-founder of the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement, stressed the importance of collective action in combating GBV, while Dapo Oyewole, Senior Special Assistant on International Cooperation to President Bola Tinubu, advocated for evidence-driven and survivor-centered investments in institutions. Hauwa Samuel Jugbo, Nasarawa State Commissioner for Women’s Affairs, highlighted the dire consequences of low state budgets for women trapped in violent situations, underscoring the need for shelters and legal pathways.
The data, gathered from 40,111 survey respondents across 399 Local Government Areas, revealed that 59 percent of Nigerians have either experienced GBV or know someone who has, with eight states reporting rates above 70 percent.