42% of Nigerian Schoolgirls Face Gender Violence Crisis

A report indicates that 42.3% of female students in Nigeria experience gender-based violence during their education, significantly impacting their academic performance and mental health. Gbola Awopetu, head of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Response Unit at the Federal Ministry of Justice, highlighted that nearly half of female students face such violence, which contributes to Nigeria's worsening school crisis.

The Federal Government, in collaboration with the European Union, is launching initiatives to improve justice pathways for abused children. These initiatives will involve training teachers, counselors, and law enforcement to identify, document, and prosecute perpetrators of gender-based violence in schools.

A workshop in Abuja aims to deepen stakeholder understanding of standard operating procedures for legal responses to school-related gender-based violence. The report emphasizes the urgent need for effective measures to protect children and ensure justice for survivors, as many incidents remain unreported and poorly documented.