By Esther Sangodele
The European Union (EU), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) have trained selected journalists in Oyo State on ethical and survivor-centred reporting of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
The two-day capacity-building workshop, organised under the EU Support to End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (ESGBV) Programme and implemented by International IDEA, is part of efforts to establish a dedicated SGBV Media Corps across selected states in Nigeria.
The initiative is aimed at improving the quality, ethics and coordination of media and community-based communication on SGBV, while moving reporting away from sensationalist and fragmented coverage to professional, survivor-centred, evidence-based and action-oriented journalism.
Declaring the training open, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Lami Adamu Bello, whose address was delivered by the agency’s Director of Media and Publicity, Vincent Adekoye, described the workshop as timely, stressing that the media remained a critical partner in the fight against SGBV.
Bello commended journalists for their support for NAPTIP through investigative reporting, public education campaigns and efforts to expose hidden abuses.
She said the media was “not merely a channel for information,” but a partner in protection, prevention and justice, adding that responsible reporting could amplify survivors’ voices and influence public opinion and policy responses.
According to her, SGBV remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations in Nigeria, affecting women, girls, boys and men across age, class, ethnicity and geographical location.
She noted that the actual scale of the problem was likely higher than available statistics suggested because many survivors still failed to report cases due to fear, stigma, lack of trust and economic dependence on perpetrators.
Bello said Oyo State was also confronted with cases ranging from sexual assault and intimate partner violence to trafficking for sexual exploitation.
She identified the state’s youthful population, increasing internet access and growing social media use as factors presenting both opportunities and vulnerabilities in the fight against SGBV.
The NAPTIP director-general said the agency’s intervention was anchored on dignity, confidentiality and holistic care for survivors, noting that its mandate included investigating cases, rescuing victims, providing medical and psychosocial support, facilitating legal assistance and pursuing prosecution where appropriate.
She said NAPTIP had continued to implement the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, resulting in increased prosecution and conviction of offenders, while also restrategising to address emerging forms of technology-facilitated SGBV.
Bello identified non-consensual sharing of intimate images, sextortion, cyberstalking, grooming of minors, deepfakes used for humiliation and blackmail, and coordinated online harassment as emerging forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
She said such abuses could be instantaneous and far-reaching, with harmful content remaining online long after the initial incident.
To address the emerging threats, Bello said NAPTIP had strengthened collaboration with technology-sector stakeholders and sister law enforcement agencies, while enhancing the capacity of its cyber response team.
She, however, stressed that ending SGBV could not be achieved by a single government agency, calling for coordinated action involving government, law enforcement agencies, health and social services, educational institutions, civil society organisations, technology platforms and the media.
Bello urged journalists to raise awareness without sensationalising cases or retraumatising survivors, hold institutions and perpetrators accountable through rigorous reporting, inform the public about available support services and challenge harmful narratives that perpetuate stigma.
She also urged journalists to obtain informed consent, protect survivors’ identities where necessary, avoid victim-blaming language and work with service providers to ensure that media coverage did not compromise investigations or survivors’ safety.
She said the SGBV Media Corps would create a network of media practitioners equipped to report SGBV accurately, ethically and from a survivor-centred perspective.
Speaking after delivering the Director-General’s address, Adekoye said the programme was designed to strengthen public engagement on SGBV in the Federal Capital Territory, Benue, Kaduna and Oyo states by improving the quality, ethics and coordination of media and community-based communication.
He said the initiative would transform public discourse and reporting on SGBV from sensationalist and fragmented coverage to professional, survivor-centred, evidence-based and action-oriented journalism.
According to him, the programme would also promote prevention, expand access to trusted information, strengthen referral pathways and support positive social norm change, including responses to technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
Figures presented during the training, citing the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, showed that 21 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical or sexual violence, while 58 per cent of survivors never sought help.
The data also showed that only 24 per cent of survivors sought help to stop the violence, while 18 per cent did not seek formal help but told someone about their experience.
The presentation also revealed persistent harmful social norms, with 22 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 believing that a husband was justified in hitting or beating his wife or partner for at least one of several reasons, compared with 16 per cent of men.
The Media Lead Facilitator and Resource Person, Mrs. Toyin Adewale Gabriel, highlighted gaps in access to justice and support services in Oyo State.
Gabriel said public awareness of GBV laws and policies stood at 41.8 per cent, while awareness of legal aid was 35.4 per cent.
She disclosed that Oyo State had only one Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), the Abiyamo Centre in Ibadan, limiting access to specialised support, particularly for survivors in rural communities.
According to her, awareness of the SARC stood at 25 per cent, while awareness of available support services was 30.3 per cent. She added that inadequate staffing and funding remained challenges affecting the centre.
Gabriel also disclosed that the Oyo State Rapid Response Team on Gender-Based Violence had recorded 692 reported cases involving abandonment, defilement, rape, rescued persons, child labour and intimate partner violence.
She said 418 of the cases involved persons aged between zero and 17 years, with most of the reported incidents occurring in rural communities.
She called for stronger collaboration with traditional and community leaders in sensitisation efforts and urged journalists to give greater attention to SGBV cases.
Gabriel urged the media to use its platforms to expose perpetrators, educate the public, promote survivor support and demand accountability from institutions responsible for justice and protection.
The training was facilitated by Gabriel and Mrs Wynyfred Achu-Egbuson, Civil Society and Community Mobilisation Specialist, ESGBV Programme, International IDEA.
The organisers said the initiative would culminate in the establishment and inauguration of a dedicated SGBV Media Corps across the Federal Capital Territory, Benue, Kaduna and Oyo states.
They added that participating journalists were expected to take the lessons from the workshop back to their newsrooms and strengthen editorial commitment to ethical, evidence-based and survivor-centred reporting of SGBV.
