The formrr first lady of Ondo State, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akerefolu has called for genuine action against gender-based violence.
Mrs Anyznwu- Akeredolu made the call as the world begins the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,
She called on governments at all levels to demonstrate real, not performative, accountability, saying “Nigeria must move beyond hashtags, speeches, or symbolic condemnations and implement concrete actions that save lives.”
She said that the day confronts Nigeria with the harsh reality that violence against women and girls remains a persistent and devastating crisis.
“For countless Nigerian women, violence is not an occasional headline, it is a daily threat that continues to erode their dignity, safety, and lives.”
Violence Against Women Prohibition Act
The former First Lady said that while many states have domesticated the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), the protection promised on paper has not translated into safety in real life.
She asserts thst gender-based violence in Nigeria persists “not because we lack laws, but because we refuse to enforce them” .
“A law without enforcement is merely symbolic, an empty gesture that does little to shield survivors” She declared.
According to her. “what we are witnessing is a systemic failure: a failure of policing, a failure of prosecution, and a failure of political will.
She said that, Lagos State stands as a model, demonstrating what is possible when institutions are empowered and leaders are committed. “Tragically, this level of seriousness remains the exception, not the rule.” She declared.
She stated that while she was First lady, institutions built to protect women should never be casualties of political transitions or administrative neglect.
Ending gender-based violence
Mrs Anyanwu-Akeredolu said that to end gender-based violence, Nigeria must urgently: fully enforce the VAPP Act across all states, fund and strengthen GBV response agencies, train police, prosecutors, and the judiciary on survivor-centered approaches, expand community awareness to dismantle harmful social norms.
Others suggestions to end gender- based biolence are, to provide shelters, hotlines, legal aid, and psychosocial support, protect women and girls from both offline and digital forms of violence, and prioritize the safety of women in rural communities, conflict areas, and IDP settlements
She said that the 2025 global theme – “Uniting to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls”, “reminds us that the fight now extends to online spaces where abuse, threats, and harassment have become alarmingly common”.
“Nigeria cannot afford to treat this crisis lightly. Every unaddressed case fuels the next. Every silenced survivor is an indictment of our collective failure. As a nation, we must decide that protecting women is not optional, it is fundamental.”
“A Nigeria that fails to protect its women has failed itself.” She concluded.
