Report: 21% of Nigerian Women Have Suffered Physical, Sexual Violence

– NAPTIP, EU, International IDEA launch Media Corps to confront silence, impunity

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

One in every five Nigerian women aged 15 to 49 has experienced physical or sexual violence, a disturbing finding that has heightened calls for sustained media scrutiny of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) across the country.

The figure emerged as the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in partnership with the European Union (EU) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), launched a dedicated Media Corps to strengthen journalism as a tool for exposing SGBV, challenging institutional failures and breaking the culture of silence surrounding abuse.

The initiative was unveiled in Abuja under the EU-supported End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Programme, with journalists receiving specialised training to investigate and report cases of sexual and gender-based violence more effectively, ethically and sensitively.