By Isaac Olufemi Ojo
BADAN — Stakeholders drawn from legal institutions, civil society, and the media have raised the alarm over the rising wave of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) across the country, calling for a united front, diligent prosecution, and increased public awareness to curb the menace.
The call came during a capacity-building workshop organised by Amnesty International at the Ibadan Business School, Oyo State, aimed at empowering female lawyers to strengthen prevention and response mechanisms for gender-based violence.
Speaking at the event, Barbara Shitnaan Magaji, Programmes Manager with Amnesty International, explained that the choice of Oyo State for the training stems from research indicating a high prevalence of the issue within the region.
Magaji noted that while SGBV occurs in every state, variations exist due to enforcement challenges and reporting gaps. She emphasized that lawyers must act as preventive mechanisms to halt human rights violations, which severely impact victims’ dignity.
“Human rights violations, once done, you cannot retract; you can’t change what has happened,” Magaji stated. “We want to see that cases are reduced and, if possible, at the end, as a country, eliminated.”
Highlighting the scope of the menace, she pointed out that SGBV affects not only women and girls but also men and boys—a reality often shrouded in societal stigma and the culture of silence.
“Gender-based violence happens to boys, girls, women, and men. I know a lot of people find it strange, but it’s happening.
We live in a society that believes men should be men and that they shouldn’t speak about what they’re going through,” Magaji said. She added that young boys are increasingly vulnerable to sodomy, underscoring the need for a gender-inclusive approach to advocacy.
Addressing the role of legal practitioners, Magaji urged state prosecutors from the Ministry of Justice to be diligent in handling cases to avoid technical loopholes that frustrate survivors. She also tasked defense lawyers—including representatives from the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria—to step up advocacy and confidentiality while encouraging survivors to speak out.
Corroborating these views, the North Central Vice Chair of Blueprint Newspapers, Zainab Sulemanu, underscored the critical role of the media in bringing SGBV cases to the public eye.
Sulemanu noted that media reportage serves as a tool for public accountability, ensuring that high-profile cases involving influential individuals are not swept under the rug.
“The media amplifies. Even before a lawyer will take up a case, the media has to be there,” Sulemanu said. She cited landmark cases that gained public prominence through media advocacy, leading to institutional and legal reforms.
While acknowledging that the media is not a prosecuting agency, she maintained that sustained publicity creates necessary awareness and puts pressure on the justice system to act.
On her part, the Chief State Counsel of the Oyo State Ministry of Justice, Deborah Oluyemisi Collins, described SGBV as a pervasive crisis cutting across all strata of society.
Collins reflected on the legal evolution in the state, noting that before 2020, prosecuting cases like rape was heavily constrained by procedural challenges and the absence of dedicated family courts, despite the enactment of the Child Rights Law in 2006.
She explained that while physical violence leaves visible marks and skeletal evidence, proving offenses like rape often requires meticulous corroborative evidence due to the clandestine nature of the crime.
However, with the operationalization of family courts by Governor Seyi Makinde in 2020 and improved sensitization, the justice sector is gradually gaining traction.
Collins urged victims and survivors to shed the toga of shame and embrace the Yoruba adage that a closed mouth smells.
She stressed the importance of open communication between parents and children, while also validating the silent suffering of male victims trapped by cultural stereotypes that discourage men from reporting abuse by their spouses.
“It’s happening to women; it’s happening to men. Everyone should come up. When we talk about this crisis, we quickly nip it in the bud, or we deal with it, so that it will not keep spreading,” Collins concluded.
The workshop ended with a renewed commitment from participants to foster inter-agency collaboration, strengthen investigative and prosecutorial frameworks, and ensure justice for survivors across Oyo State and beyond.
Adding a practical perspective from the frontline of legal practice, Bolanle Ogunwale, a legal practitioner and member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Emphasized that violence cuts across genders to affect vulnerable boys and men.
She urged the public to break the culture of silence, refrain from enabling abusers, and allow the wheels of justice to turn unhindered for the safety of society.
