Status report by the Initiative for Equal Rights, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, and Education as a Vaccine.
August 2020.
Nigeria saw epidemic levels of violence against women and girls (VAWG) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The past six months have seen a spike in reports and a number of high profile cases. Public outcry and advocacy of women’s rights activists caused the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to declare a state of emergency and President Buhari to commit his administration to act. Yet, over two months later, while some promising actions have been taken by relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), insufficient progress has been made. This paper outlines how pandemic related restrictions have increased all forms of VAWG and what needs to be done.
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