By Chidinma Iroegbu and Esther Oseyiomon
The EU Support to End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (ESGBV) Programme in Nigeria, implemented by International IDEA in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Justice, has supported the deployment of a standardised Violence Against Women (VAW) Reporting System to improve case tracking and access to justice.
International IDEA, under the ESGBV Programme, represented by Melissa Omene, GBV Policy and Strategy Development Specialist, said the platform addresses fragmented data and weak monitoring of violence against women cases across Nigeria.
“Reporting violence is only the beginning of a survivor’s journey. What happens after reporting matters just as much as the reporting itself,” Omene said.
She said an assessment involving 112 respondents across 32 institutions in the FCT, Benue, Kaduna and Oyo states identified gaps in data coordination, investigations, evidence management and justice-sector monitoring.
Omene added that the National GBV Dashboard recorded 4,449 cases in the first half of 2023, while more than 19,000 cases had been documented nationwide since its launch in 2020.
The Federal Ministry of Justice, represented by Mrs. Yewande Gbola-Awopetu, Head of the SGBV Unit, said the effectiveness of the reporting system would depend on accurate and timely information from desk officers.
“Every field you complete, every case status you update, and every follow-up you log becomes part of the evidence base,” Gbola-Awopetu said.
She said the National Human Rights Commission recorded more than 33,000 SGBV cases between January and May, while NAPTIP documented over 3,000 cases of violence against women in the FCT.
International IDEA, represented by Mr. Agharinma Ehiedu, National Consultant, VAW Reporting System, said the platform would centralise information currently collected separately by states and provide justice institutions with a single source of data.
“You can know how many offenders you have, how many cases have been convicted, and those that are pending trial across the country,” Ehiedu said.
He added that members of the public would also be able to report violations on the platform, with cases routed to the appropriate state desk officers for follow-up.