Project profile — Addressing Gaps in the Reduction of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria

• Nigeria (100.00%)

• Population policy and administrative management:
Population policy and administrative management (13010) (30.00%)
Reproductive health care (13020) (15.00%)
Personnel development for population and reproductive health (13081) (15.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (40.00%)

• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Children's issues (significant objective)

The project aims to contribute to an increased realization of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women in Nigeria. Project activities include: (1) improving the knowledge and skills of government social workers and health care workers to provide age and culturally appropriate female genital mutilation/cutting and child, early and forced marriage prevention and treatment services; (2) upgrading health facilities to provide culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive quality services on harmful traditional practices (female genital mutilation/cutting and child, early and forced marriage), as well as obstetric fistula care; (3) supporting advocacy activities carried out by women-led legislative coalitions at community and state levels to domesticate anti-sexual and gender-based violence laws; (4) supporting gender-sensitive and culturally appropriate media activities to raise awareness and mobilize action against harmful traditional practices (female genital mutilation/cutting and child, early and forced marriage) and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence; (5) activating community platforms for dialogue on female genital mutilation/cutting, child, early and forced marriage, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence to reach boys, men, women, traditional gatekeepers and religious leaders; and (6) raising awareness of women and girls of their rights, and building their knowledge and capacity to take action against all forms of sexual and gender-based violence. The project is expected to directly reach over 300,000 women, girls and boys 10 to 24 years of age, and potentially hundreds of thousands more indirectly in the targeted states.

The expected results for this project include: (1) decreased gender-based discriminatory practices and attitudes in health services for women and girls, particularly related to fistula and sexual and gender-based violence in focus states; and (2) decreased sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional practices (female genital mutilation/cutting and child, early and forced marriage) in focus states.

Results achieved as of March 2022 include: (1) 5 communities in Oyo State publicly declaring abandonment of practicing female genital mutilation; (2) provided free obstetric fistula repairs to 5,100 women and girls in the states of Sokoto and Bauchi; (3) provided 170,412 girls at risk of gender-based violence with culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive, gender-based violence prevention information; (4) activated 124 community platforms for dialogues on gender-based violence, female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage that engaged boys, girls, men, women, traditional gatekeepers and religious leaders; and (5) provided support to numerous advocacy initiatives, leading to the domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition law in Bauchi, Sokoto and Oyo states.

• Proactive disclosure