Report: At least one woman sexually assaulted, killed in Nigeria every 10 minutes

A report by the Salama Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) says a woman is sexually assaulted or killed every 10 minutes in Nigeria.

The report follows findings by the centre that up to 4,426 women, girls and children across eight council areas of Kaduna had experienced one form of gender-based violence (GBV) or the other between 2019 and 2025.

Grace Abim, SARC manager for Kafanchan zone, reeled off the figures on Monday in Abuja at a capacity-building session organised by Global Rights Nigeria.

Abim said the organisation witnessed a surge of GBV incidents in the zone in January 2025, with 3,600 women at the receiving end. 

The manager noted that GBV victims were beginning to speak up in states with centres, unlike what obtained previously when people were dying in silence due to a dearth of avenues to report abuses. 

She decried the slow pace of getting justice for victims in the country, noting that the centre is often faced with several barriers to justice dispensation including social, religious and cultural challenges.

She spoke about the need for GBV offenders to be punished according to the law, adding that more funding is required to stamp out the menace from society.

“GBV has no respect for ages, culture, religion, tribe, profession, anyone can be a victim. However, most of the cases recorded were women and children,” Abim said.

Noya Sedi, the programme officer for Women and Gender at Global Rights, said the workshop was aimed at promoting effective community referral pathways to address SGBV in north-west Nigeria.

Sedi noted that the organisation is working to bridge the gap between informal community-based responses and formal support systems, which integrates community dialogue committees to improve referral pathways and response mechanisms to GBV.

She added that the workshop also underscores the importance of community involvement, as local members often serve as the first point of contact for survivors.