Experts in Ogun State have called for urgent action to curb the state’s persistent increase in Gender-Based Violence, GBV, and other forms of abuse.

They made the call at a stakeholders’ engagement on GBV, Standard Operating Procedures, Case Management, and Legislative Framework Workshop organized by the Gender Unit of the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project, OGSTEP, and the Ministry of Women Affairs.

The engagement, held on Thursday at the OGSTEP conference room, Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, brought together 86 media professionals, online content creators, civil society groups, and government agencies to strengthen ethical reporting on Gender-Based Violence, GBV.

Speaking at the engagement, OGSTEP’s Gender Specialist, Mrs. Ewajesu Fasina, lamented that the state had the highest number of GBV cases and insisted that everyone involved, particularly the media, must raise the alarm on the danger posed by the menace.

Fasina stated that according to a report from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development, 28% of Nigerian women aged 25–29 have experienced some form of physical violence at the age of 15, while 1 in 10 boys experiences sexual abuse.

She stressed the importance of the media in influencing public opinion on GBV and urged journalists to prioritize the dignity and safety of survivors in their reporting, warning against narratives that could cause further harm.

Fasina said, “Journalists have the power to overturn court cases with the power of the pen or the power of the keyboard.

“Journalists have the opportunity to cover all angles, the health, the security, the legal aspects of every story and that’s why we’ve taken out our time to say, in this war against gender-based violence, without media, without journalists, we cannot win it. Only this group of people have the better and eagle’s eye view.”

Also, a legal expert and State Coordinator of the Child Protection Network (CPN), Barrister Adedamola Lapite, maintained that asking for consent and maintaining confidentiality would help to prevent trauma for the survivors.

He guided participants through the legal framework for gender-based violence response and reporting, urging media practitioners to report responsibly and increase public awareness about the harmful impact of such issues on society.

“What we have done here today is basically talk to us on the things required in reporting gender-based violence cases. We must talk about the need for confidentiality, for consent, so as to avoid traumatizing survivors when we’re reporting them,” Lapite said.

The OGSTEP Project Coordinator, Mosunmola Owo-Odusi, stated that as part of their program intervention, they have renovated four Sexual Assault Referral Centres throughout the state and outfitted two of them with empowerment centres to ensure that survivors have a safe place to go.