The Lagos State Government has launched what it described as Nigeria’s first Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention Policy, introducing a data-driven framework to identify, monitor and prevent sexual and gender-based violence across the state.
The policy, unveiled on Thursday, shifts the state’s approach from responding mainly to reported cases to identifying the conditions, locations and social norms that contribute to violence before it occurs.
It provides for the use of localised data indicators, heat mapping, quarterly reviews and public reporting to monitor patterns of GBV and assess the impact of government interventions.
The framework also expands the state’s prevention strategy to cover violence occurring in homes, workplaces, schools and digital spaces, including technology-facilitated sexual and gender-based violence.
The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said the state could not effectively tackle GBV by focusing solely on incidents after they had occurred.
“We cannot continue to focus only on what happens after violence occurs. Prevention requires us to identify the factors that enable violence, challenge harmful social norms and strengthen the systems that protect people before harm occurs,” she said.
“This policy gives us a clear framework to coordinate these efforts across sectors and communities.”
The policy is structured around four levels of prevention, covering education and awareness, legal and institutional safeguards, survivor-centred services, and the capacity of first responders.
Under the primary prevention pillar, the state will focus on education, awareness and social-norm transformation, including the promotion of consent, bodily autonomy and digital safety.
The secondary prevention pillar targets legal and institutional mechanisms for early intervention and accountability. It includes streamlined standard operating procedures for law enforcement agencies and the use of the Lagos State Sex Offenders Register.
The tertiary prevention pillar focuses on survivors, with provisions for services aimed at protecting their rights, choices, dignity and privacy while improving access to medical, legal, psychosocial and economic support.
The fourth pillar is focused on strengthening the capacity of first responders and service providers to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence.
Implementation of the policy will be overseen by a multi-sectoral Technical Working Group anchored by the DSV Agency and comprising relevant ministries, departments and agencies, as well as civil society partners.
The monitoring framework will rely on localised indicators and heat maps to identify patterns and areas requiring targeted intervention.
Quarterly reviews and public reporting will also form part of the implementation process, enabling the government to track progress and assess the effectiveness of prevention measures.
The Lagos State Government said the policy operationalises its declaration of zero tolerance for all forms of sexual and gender-based violence.
The policy was developed with support from the Ford Foundation.
The launch represents an effort by the state government to institutionalise GBV prevention as a cross-sector responsibility, rather than leaving intervention primarily to agencies responding after cases of violence have already been reported.
