The Centre for Inclusive Development (CID) is conducting a nationwide study to address the lack of data on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women with disabilities in Nigeria.
The research also seeks to address the gap in Nigeria’s response to GBV and also inform more inclusive GBV prevention and response strategies.
While speaking at the inception meeting on National Survey on Gender-Based Violence Among Women with Disabilities, the Research Coordinator, Esther Ijeaku, emphasized that the goal of the research is to identify key factors driving GBV against women with disabilities, evaluate the adequacy of existing interventions, and generate actionable recommendations for disability-inclusive solutions.
Ijeaku shared that “women with disabilities face unique and multilayered risks due to the intersection of gender and disability-based discrimination. Yet there is a glaring lack of data to capture the nature and prevalence of the violence they face.”
Ijeaku thereafter noted that the research findings will guide policy formulation, program development, and funding decisions.
A panel session at the meeting featured government agencies discussing data-driven action and their efforts to protect women with disabilities against GBV.
Mrs. Bimbo Abolarin, Assistant Director at the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Unit, highlighted the agency’s commitment to ensuring access to information materials to prevent GBV among persons with disabilities.
“We produce our information materials in braille so that the blind can know where and how to report violence. We also take awareness campaigns to the grassroots,” she said.
Abolarin noted that each Senatorial District across the country has protection officers feeding GBV data into a national database, yet reporting remains a challenge for many.
Julie Akharia, representing the Gender Department of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, detailed the Ministry’s efforts to build awareness and support structures through workshops, policy frameworks, shelters, and a national GBV data dashboard.
“We do case management for survivors and collaborate with international donors to improve our GBV response,” she said.
Sadaatu Usman, Programme Support Officer at the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), shared that the group engages with the House of Representatives Committee on Disability Matters to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities across the country are protected.
She also noted that the Association leverages local chapter networks to respond to cases at the state level.
Nike Akinbola, Head of Programmes for Development and Partnership at the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, emphasized that the Commission works with relevant stakeholders to ensure that they embed disability-inclusion into all their programming.
She thereafter commended CID team for the research, stressing that it would help to bridge the data gap in the country.
Also in attendance at the inception meeting were representatives from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) who are collaborating with CID on the research, Research Assistants across the country and Disability rights experts.