The culture of silence surrounding sexual and gender-based violence across rural West Africa is experiencing a decisive shift. Between 26th August and 31st August 2026, a high-impact community sensitisation drive swept through six rural localities in the Ido local government area of Oyo State – Jiboye, Bode ‘gbo, Gbekuba, Akufo, and the surrounding Ibarapa axis.
Organised under the auspices of the European Union – funded a four-year initiative to end Sexual Gender Based Violence, the outreach marks the execution of phase 1 of a three – month ethical reporting action plan. Implemented by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and facilitated by International IDEA, the campaign underscores a vital public health truth: violence is not a private domestic dispute but a severe public health crisis and a criminal Violation of human rights.
Over 200 community members – including 55 women, more than 100 youths under 18 years of age, and 24 elderly men – engaged directly in house-to-house sessions, receiving educational flyers designed to demystify referral pathways and legal protections.
Community Action to End Sexual Gender Based Violence in Iddo Local Government Area.
Leading the field outreach, Princess Roxanne Bisodun, a dedicated member of the EU ESGBV Media Corps (cohort MO2 ), challenged long-standing socio – cultural norms that historically suppressed survivors’ disclosures. Addressing local landlords’ associations, religious leaders, tenants, and parents, Bisodun emphasised that physical, psychological, and Sexual abuse must never be settled as a “family matter.
“Silence protects perpetrators, not survivors. When communities treat sexual and gender-based violence as a private affair, they compound physical trauma with social harm,” Bisodun noted during a session with community leaders.
The health and psychological consequences of gender-based violence (GBV) require immediate medical intervention, trauma-informed counselling, and safe shelter, and stigmatisation and fear of social ostracisation remain the primary barriers preventing survivors from seeking life-saving care. During the six- day exercise, five survivors of abuse came forward in private to share their personal ordeals under strict informed consent and identity confidentiality. “Most of the toddlers here are product’s from Sexual assaults “, highlighted the urgency for sustainable grassroots interventions and the need for a functional Sexual assault referral centre ( SARC).
Community leaders and landlords’ associations across Iddo responded to the call by pledging to actively report cases, ready to expose perpetrators, and ensure that survivors are protected from secondary victimisation and community backlash.
Legal frameworks and NAPTIP support systems to end Sexual Gender Based Violence, central to the rural sensitisation campaign, were to educate residents on their legal rights under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) [VAPP] law, which was domesticated in Oyo State in 2020. The VAPP law provides a robust legal framework to prosecute abusers, criminalise harmful traditional practices, and guarantee protection orders for survivors.
To ensure accountability that translates into accessible action, the outreach spotlighted functional referral pathways, connecting rural survivors to institutional support.
Direct emergency reporting to access the dedicated NAPTIP toll-free line was provided to report ongoing abuse, human trafficking, and cultural violence, and to access free medical & forensic clinical care at designated SARC centres and other facilities to prevent sexually transmitted infections, manage physical trauma, and secure Forensic evidence.
Legal and psychosocial protection such as safe housing and confidential counselling, with state – backed legal assistance through NAPTIP and civil society partners.
By prioritising survivor-centred reporting, such as avoiding sensationalism and being dedicated to preserving survivors’ confidentiality, the EU ESGBV Media Corps and international IDEA have established a reproducible model for healthy society advocacy, while residents’ associations across the Ido LG area call for more recurring sensitisation drives.
The message remains clear: “Ending the cycle of violence and abuse requires a collective commitment to reject silence, enforce the VAPP law Oyo State adopted, and demand justice for every survivor.
