Violence Against Women: A Silent Pandemic

The growing rate of violence against women (VAW) particularly in Africa requires rapid interventions, support for survivors, intensified public sensitisation and stronger legal action against perpetrators, Yinka Olatunbosun and Esther Oluku write

With a heartwrenching cry for help, Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei broke into a run. This time, she was not racing against a fellow athlete on the tracks at the Paris Olympics. She had just been doused with fire, scorching her black hair and skin while her face bore the anguish of the excruciating pain. Sadly, no one could save her from her former boyfriend who reportedly lynched her. The 33-year old Ugandan marathon runner died some days later alongside the unfulfilled dream of securing an Olympic medal some day.

Prior to this incident was a harrowing story. According to the authorities in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained, she was targeted after returning home from church with her two daughters by her ex-boyfriend who had been at loggerheads with her over a piece of land. 

Cheptegei was said to have bought a plot in Trans Nzoia county and built a house to be near Kenya’s elite athletics training centres. Sadly, justice was cut short in its tracks when the suspected killer cum ex-boyfriend also died after sustained injury from the same inferno that killed the athlete.

In Nigeria, a student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Christiana Idowu was kidnapped while commuting between Ikorodu and Yaba in Lagos State and reportedly murdered by her abductor.

A family source revealed to the press that the abductors were demanding a sum of N3m as a ransom before they could release the student. When the ransom wasn’t paid in full, young Idowu was made to pay an ultimate price- her life.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the suspect confessed that he killed the girl and buried her in the house.

There is also a new story awaiting further confirmation that in 2018, the suspect’s ex-girlfriend may have been killed in the same manner. Also, it was alleged that in 2020, the suspect’s own biological sister might have experienced the same thing that happened to Christianah in 2024. The investigation is ongoing.

This horrifying incident has ignited widespread outrage across Nigeria, especially on social media with the hashtag #JusticeForChristianah.

Global Voice Against VAW…

Violence against women is a global problem demanding global attention. Expectedly, these incidents of violence against women have not gone unnoticed by stakeholders in global public health and women rights. 

For instance, the United Nations had issued a statement in response to the death of the former Olympic athlete.

“We join the UN Population Fund and UN Women in strongly condemning (Cheptegei’s) violent murder,” the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric said.

What Statistics Show…

Statistics vary from continent to continent with more developed or high income nations reporting a decline, and low income countries in Africa, which traditionally operate a patriarchal society.

According to UN Women, in 2021, around 45,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members. This means that, on average, more than five women or girls are killed every hour by someone in their own family.

Also, it was documented that 56 per cent of all female homicides are committed by intimate partners or other family members, only 11 per cent of all male homicides are perpetrated in the private sphere.

Attacks on women have become a major concern in Kenya. According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), over 40 per cent of women have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner during their lives.

In 2022, it was reported that at least 34% of women had experienced physical violence.

Described as the “rape capital of the world” by Human Rights Watch, South Africa has some of the highest rates of gender-based violence worldwide, including rape, female homicide and domestic abuse. The women in South Africa are faced with  challenges that share fences with the country’s history of patriarchy vis-a-vis apartheid. 

Gender-based violence is a threat to the mental, physical, and reproductive health of women, increases the incidence of homicide, contributes to the HIV/AIDS crisis, and places families at risk. The female homicide rate in South Africa is roughly 24.6 per 100,000 population—nearly six times the global average.

The World Health Organisation reported in March 2024 that one in three women or 30 per cent of the world women population have been “subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partners violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime” with violence ranging from physical abuse, to mental and emotional torture. 

Likewise, the United Nations women reported that in 2022, about 48,000 women were killed globally by their intimate partners or family members. The statistics also pose that 55 per cent of all female homicides were perpetrated by intimate partners or family members with only 12 percent of all male homicides perpetrated in the private spheres. 

Narrowing the lens to Nigeria,  ‘16 Facts About Violence Against Women and Girls in Nigeria,’ a Spotlight Initiative backed by the UN, European Union, UNICEF, and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, reveals that nearly one in three women aged 15-49 has experienced physical violence in Nigeria. 

Legal Framework…

Although African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, in July 2003, has adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa with its enactment in 2005, as of 2023, only 49 of the 55 member countries of the African Union have signed the document. Also, while 49 countries have ratified the charter, localised enforcement within countries is still very low.

In 2015, the Nigerian Senate enacted the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act. Of the 36 states of the federation, 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory have domesticated the VAPP Act. 

After years of grassroots campaigns and protests, legislative measures like the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act brought some hope that things would change for the better.  

However, recent legislative developments have raised concerns. In 2022, Senator Jibrin Isah introduced a Bill proposing to repeal the VAPP Act, arguing that the existing law had shortcomings and the need for a more comprehensive legal framework. Last month, the  Repeal VAPP Act Bill passed a second reading, making the threat of a complete withdrawal of the Act more pressingly real. Concerns are now mounting among gender-based violence activists and advocates about the potential repeal and its implications argue that while a repeal would completely eliminate the existing protections and provisions, an amendment would be a better option, allowing for changes or improvements.

Priye Diri, a leading advocate and change leader with Nguvu Collective, cautions against the potential repeal of the VAPP Act, stating, “Since 2015, the VAPP Act has been a critical lifeline for women and vulnerable individuals in Nigeria. It has empowered thousands to report GBV cases, established essential support services, and made tangible progress toward gender justice. Repealing the Act would reverse these advancements, leaving survivors without necessary protections and creating exploitable gaps in the legal system.”

Senator Jibrin’s proposal aims to introduce a more holistic reform to the Act, aligning its provisions with evolving societal needs.  Repealing the Act will undo the decades of progress that gender rights activists in Nigeria made on addressing violence against vulnerable people and will be a major setback for democracy in the country.

To address these concerns, Priye Diri has launched an online petition urging Senate Committee Chairman on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, and Senator Jibrin Isah to consider amending rather than repealing the VAPP Act. The petition highlights the need for legislative action that enhances existing protections without dismantling the progress made. By amending the VAPP Act, legislators can address its shortcomings while preserving the vital legal framework that supports survivors of gender-based violence.

Non-governmental Interventions…

The war against the scourge of violence against women had been in the ring of non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders in Nigeria for many years. 

One of the warriors of VAW is Dr. Abiola Akiode, an African activist, feminist scholar, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law and Executive Director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC). She shed light on how patriarchy has contributed to the increase in violence against women.

“Patriarchy contributed to the rise in violence against women that we see in society. The way the African system is structured, women are seen as subordinate to men. At a point in time, a woman is also seen as a property of the man who can be used, who can be damaged, who can be broken, who can be thrown away and all of that. But I think that it is very important to put the narrative correctly. 

“African culture does not also harbor violence. Right from the onset, the African system is opposed to rape. The African system of patriarchy does not represent Africa because patriarchy is not only about the men in Africa; it’s also about the women in Africa. When anyone does anything that can lead to discrimination and inequality, he is a patriarch. And colonialism itself is patriarchal in nature. 

“Colonialism also contributed to the kind of patriarchy that we see in Africa. Most of all these went on unabated. This led to the fact that we have violence against women as a continuous process of life. 

On why educated women and girls are also victims of VAW, she explained that the scourge has no boundaries.

“This is because violence has no bounds. It does not respect authority; it does not respect position. It is not a respecter of titles and all of that.”

In the same vein, the Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Rights and Health Project (WRAHP), Bose Ironsi offered her perspective on the gaps in  fighting gender-based violence.

She attributed the increase in reportage of cases locally to increase in awareness of the societal menace. Impunity is another factor that she pointed out as being responsible for the rising figures of victims of VAW.

“I think that it is a result of awareness that has increased the reportage,” she began. “People are now aware that domestic violence is not something they should sweep under the carpet. Also, in Lagos state, there is a good political will to work and create an agency that they are funding to respond to the scourge. But then the funding is not enough. The Lagos state government cannot fund it alone. 

“A lot of people and cases are waiting and when perpetrators are not prosecuted, it doesn’t deter other people. If you are living in a community as an offender, the community will be stigmatising survivors. 

“They are abusing the survivors. They say ‘you cannot live in this community as long as our brother is in jail.’ There is also a high level of incest or defilement. You would expect that mother’s would come out and speak but they won’t want to speak out. 

“The issue of impunity stems from mother’s trying to keep their marriages. The reason why they would do that is because of the pushback from the society warning a woman not to send her husband to jail for domestic violence. “If you didn’t come out to say it, would anybody know?”

She identified social constructs that made girls a weaker gender as a problematic factor in this silent pandemic.

“There is low funding for those of us working in the areas of sexual and domestic violence. When the case persists in court, the parents may start complaining of transport fares and time spent on justice delivery. We expect the government to take charge of that. Majority of the NGOs in this area are sourcing for funds and funding is drying up daily.

“Ireti Resource Centre is predominantly for psycho-social support for survivors of sbv and has been there for three years. We ask if someone has been sexually abused, who takes care of the social aspect of the child or woman? The government can’t do everything. That’s the truth. People need to support them. That’s why we are there. But we need resources. We pay money to file the cases in court. We also pay lawyers to hear and defend the cases. If we don’t have money, what happens?”

Government Action

Every life matters. However, women are vulnerable and they are central figures in family building. This is why the government has put the right foot forward in fighting the scourge of violence against women.

The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titi Vivour-Adeniyi explained that the issue of violence against women requires a multidisciplinary approach. 

“We look at ensuring that we have relevant laws to protect women and in particular, persons in cohabiting relationships that experience domestic violence. We have laws like the Criminal law of Lagos state that has a chapter devoted to sexual offense related issues. Lagos was the first to punish rape and defilement perpetrators with life imprisonment. The criminal code was reviewed in 2011.

“We also established dispute institutions to address this menace. In 2014, the government created the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response team which metamorphosed domestic and sexual violence agency- a statutory agency.”

She observed that Lagos is still the only state that has institutions for issues of domestic and sexual violence. 

She continued: “Of course, there is no one agency that can provide all the services. Hence, the need to have professionals across the various responder agencies.

“For instance, the Ministry of Justice has the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) which is in charge of prosecuting these cases and there is a specialised unit in the DPP that prosecutes cases of gender and sexual violence related. We have the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation that addresses domestic violence issues. We have the Ministry of Youth and Social development that provides holistic support to child survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.”

As one of the first responders to cases of domestic violence, the Nigeria Police are also trained to handle these matters with care and caution.

“We have the police that have designated units in the police commission to investigate sexual and gender-based violence cases. They are referred to as the family support unit. Of course you know that Lagos state has specialised courts on domestic and sexual based violence and these courts adjudicate the cases, ensuring that these cases are expedited by reducing the frequency in adjournment because this is why judgment is delayed.

“Our statutory mandate is to prevent and respond- we are very heavy on prevention. That’s why we have different programmes in place. We engage boys and girls separately through our ‘king and queens club’ initiative. 

“We engage religious leaders, clerics, community leaders, traditional rulers, gatekeepers and custodians of culture. People that are influential and are first responders before matters escalate to us. We let them know where they need to make referrals and where their interventions should stop. 

“We have other programmes that we run with the registrars of marriage, traditional MCs referred to as ‘Alaga.’ We also have direct engagement with different women, young girls in higher institutions, secondary schools, social media, radio jingles. We are able to create that awareness around the different kinds of violence: physical, emotional, financial and psychological.”

Even in cases of technology-enabled violence against women such as cyber bullying and cyber stalking, the law protects a woman from a perpetrator.

“We have private organisations that we work in and assist in building capacity and human resources department to be able to create sexual harassment protocols and help them to investigate these complaints if and when they are made. 

“There is also what is called revenge porn when someone threatens to release your nude or has released the nude. This is a punishable offense under the criminal law and we work with the police to apprehend the suspect and, where possible, charged to court.”

Quotes

According to UN Women, in 2021, around 45,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members. This means that, on average, more than five women or girls are killed every hour by someone in their own family. Also, it was documented that 56 per cent of all female homicides are committed by intimate partners or other family members…

Patriarchy contributed to the rise in violence against women that we see in society. The way the African system is structured, women are seen as subordinate to men. At a point in time, a woman is also seen as a property of the man who can be used, who can be damaged, who can be broken, who can be thrown away and all of that. But I think that it is very important to put the narrative correctly