Gender-based violence and women’s health

BY SYLVESTER OJENAGBON

March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated this year under the theme “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” This theme emphasises the need for actions that unlock equal rights, power, and opportunities for all and envisions a feminist future where no one is left behind.

The 2025 IWD campaign theme is “Accelerate Action.” This underscores the urgency of accelerating efforts to eliminate systemic barriers and biases that impede women’s equality. Gender-based violence (GBV) is one area where action needs to be accelerated to protect the health of our women and girls.

GBV refers to violence committed against any person on account of his or her sex or gender. It encompasses a wide range of harmful acts, including physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, and socio-economic violence. Although it affects both men and women, the majority of GBV victims are women and girls.

Figures from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) show that 1 in 3 Nigerian women have experienced physical violence by age 15, while 49 per cent of divorced, separated, and widowed women, as well as 35 per cent of married women, have experienced spousal violence.

Many of the barriers and biases hindering women, especially concerning their rights, equality, and empowerment against gender-based violence (GBV), are deeply rooted in legal, cultural, social, and institutional structures. In many places across the country, violence against women is often normalised or downplayed. Many a time, cultural attitudes blame victims, giving the impression that they brought violence upon themselves as a result of their behaviours or choices. Sometimes, women are expected to stay in abusive relationships due to caregiving roles and family pressures.

Women, in many cases, are afraid of social stigma or are too embarrassed to report cases of GBV due to the fear of being disbelieved, blamed, or ostracised by their communities. In addition, there is a lack of trust in the criminal justice system to protect them. Where they exist, laws are sometimes inaccessible or poorly enforced. The police, courts, and other authorities often exhibit biases when responding to cases of GBV.

Even when women dare to leave violent situations, a major barrier is economic dependence on their abusive partners. Such women fear financial instability or homelessness if they leave, especially where they earn less than the men and have fewer job opportunities.

The truth is that GBV has profound and wide-ranging effects on women’s health—it affects both their physical and mental well-being. It can lead to fibromyalgia, chronic pain syndromes, irritable bowel syndrome, and other gastrointestinal disorders. Sexual violence can result in unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and increased risks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Physical violence can cause lacerations, eye damage, and disabilities, and may complicate pregnancies and childbirth. It is linked to increased maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. Cases abound across the country of women being physically maimed and sometimes killed by their spouses or intimate partners or men who were hell-bent on taking advantage of them.

Women at the receiving end of GBV often report anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They also have an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts. Some of them turn to alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism, further complicating their mental health. Such women often experience reduced productivity and difficulty generating income. Also, children of women who experience GBV are at higher risk of emotional and behavioural problems.

Sadly, many women who have suffered GBV do not receive the necessary trauma-informed healthcare or psychological support. Healthcare providers are often not adequately trained to identify the signs of abuse or provide the necessary care. Some healthcare systems lack the infrastructure to adequately respond to GBV, such as emergency medical care for injuries, counselling for survivors, or the ability to offer support to women who may not feel safe seeking help in the first place.

Tackling the problem of GBV in Nigeria would, therefore, require a multi-pronged approach involving education, legal reforms, community engagement, and technological innovations. Thankfully, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act was enacted in 2015. This law addresses GBV by providing legal protection for victims and punishment for perpetrators. However, its implementation still varies across states, with only half of the states that adopted the law actively enforcing its provisions. It is gladdening, however, that a few states, like Lagos, Ekiti and Edo, have their own domestic violence laws, which provide additional legal frameworks for addressing GBV. And the laws are being diligently enforced.

In addition, organisations like the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has developed mobile apps that provide a safe platform for survivors to report GBV cases with the utmost confidentiality. This is helping to overcome barriers such as stigma and lack of access to reporting mechanisms. Some universities in the country are also implementing policies and programmes to address GBV on their campuses. This is in addition to the sensitisation efforts by some NGOs in primary and secondary schools and other places. There are Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), which offer medical, forensic, and counselling services to survivors. However, these are still too few and far between to meet the needs of a large population such as ours.

Addressing the GBV problem in Nigeria calls for increased efforts across the board. There is, therefore, an urgent need for all stakeholders—state governments, government agencies, civil society, educational institutions, international organisations and even individuals—to step up action and collaborate more in order to protect our women and girls from GBV and its debilitating effects.

Ojenagbon, a health communication expert, lives in Lagos.