The Federal Government has revealed that at least 10,326 cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) were reported across Nigeria between January and September 2025.
Of this number, 2,444 survivors received care and support at designated recovery centres.
The disclosure was made by the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imam Suleiman-Ibrahim, at the National Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TF-GBV), held on Friday in Abuja.
The event was organised by ActionAid Nigeria and other development partners as part of activities marking the 2025 16 Days of Activism, themed “UNiTE! End All Forms of Digital Violence against Women and Girls.”
Represented by Dr. Adanna Steinacker, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Women’s Health, the minister highlighted that 511 survivors were also supported through livelihoods and empowerment interventions.
She noted that despite a decline in sexual and physical violence reported in the 2024 National Demographic and Health Survey, one in three women still experienced GBV in the country.
“Violence against women, children, and other vulnerable groups remains a pressing challenge nationwide,” Dr. Steinacker said.
She added that technology-facilitated GBV, including sex torture, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, online blackmail, and digital manipulation, remains largely underreported due to its complexity, often causing severe trauma and, in extreme cases, fatalities.
The minister further announced plans to relaunch the National Electronic Dashboard on Gender-Based Violence to enhance tracking, case management, and coordination.
She also revealed that the ministry would prioritise the creation of an Emergency GBV Response Fund, a dedicated mechanism to ensure stable funding for shelters, hotlines, emergency responses, and survivor rehabilitation.
Representing the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Mrs. Cynthia Rowe called for a national online gender safety policy to streamline agency coordination and enforce content moderation standards.
She urged social media platforms to remove harmful content within 48 hours, deploy culturally sensitive moderation teams, and publish transparency reports.
Rowe also proposed establishing digital abuse courts and protection orders to integrate police, legal aid, and psychosocial support into a single reporting system.
ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, said the dialogue was aimed at strengthening national coordination on TF-GBV, identifying legal and institutional gaps, and co-creating a National Roadmap for prevention and response.
He stressed that the initiative would foster actionable solutions and secure commitments from government and stakeholders to enhance protection, reporting, accountability, and digital safety for women and girls across Nigeria.
