Over 30,000 Gender-Based Violence Cases Recorded in Four Years — Women Affairs Minister

Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has disclosed that more than 30,000 cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) were formally reported to the ministry between 2020 and 2024.

Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja at a knowledge-enhancing session on preventing GBV and improving access to justice — jointly organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice and UN Women, with support from the Ford Foundation — the Minister, represented by Mrs. Adesuwa Ogundaye, Director of Legal Services in the Ministry, described the figures as alarming.

Citing data from the Ministry’s Gender-Based Violence Data Situation Room Report, Sulaiman-Ibrahim revealed that one in every three Nigerian women has suffered some form of violence.
“These are not just statistics,” she stressed. “They represent shattered lives, broken dreams, and generational trauma.”

While commending the broad adoption of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, 2015 across 35 states and the Child Rights Act, 2003 in all 36 states, she lamented the gap between legislation and real-world implementation.

“In many states, the funding, enforcement, and awareness required to operationalise these laws are lacking. Survivors continue to encounter justice systems that are under-resourced, insensitive, or simply out of reach.”

The Minister called for a nationwide enlightenment campaign to bolster the implementation, funding, and monitoring of these critical laws.
“This must include capacity building for community actors, religious and traditional institutions, law enforcement agencies, and judicial officers,” she said. “Laws must not only exist; they must work.”

Sulaiman-Ibrahim also proposed establishing a National Social Protection Agency dedicated to meeting the complex needs of survivors and other vulnerable groups.

“Such an agency would harmonise support services, including emergency shelters, psychosocial care, health access, economic reintegration, and legal aid — ensuring no survivor is left behind