FG TO ESTABLISH SAFE SPACES IN ALL 774 LGAs FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE SURVIVORS
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Agency Report
The Federal Government says it will establish dedicated safe spaces across all 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria to improve protection, rehabilitation and support services for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the ministry, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the New Era Foundation.
The initiative forms part of the National Action Plan on GBV aimed at expanding access to care, justice and protection for survivors across the country.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the proposed safe spaces would decentralise immediate response services and ensure survivors can access help closer to their communities.
“A core component of this upcoming national action plan is the strategic establishment of dedicated safe spaces across all 774 local government areas in Nigeria to decentralise immediate care and protection,” she said.
According to her, the centres will provide medical, legal, psychosocial and rehabilitation services under one roof, while regional mega-centres will also be established to handle more complex cases.
She added that mobile response teams under the “Women on Wheels” initiative would extend services to hard-to-reach communities.
The minister expressed concern over the rising cases of GBV, noting that 2,755 cases were documented between January and April 2026, averaging about 23 cases daily.
She also revealed that women and girls accounted for more than 81 per cent of survivors, while sexual violence made up 82 per cent of reported cases.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said only 4 per cent of formally reported cases had led to successful prosecution, describing it as a gap that requires stronger accountability mechanisms.
“This is a wake-up call. We must move beyond prevention to protection, rehabilitation and access to justice for survivors,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer of the NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, described gender-based violence as both a public health and human rights crisis, noting its long-term physical and psychological impact on victims.
He said the partnership would integrate healthcare, counselling, legal aid and rehabilitation services to support survivors more effectively.
Also speaking, Trustee of the New Era Foundation, Mrs Patricia Otuedon-Arawore, said its facility in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, would be repurposed into a rehabilitation centre for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence.
She said the centre would provide shelter, recovery support and reintegration services for affected women and girls.
The stakeholders said the collaboration reflects a broader effort to strengthen Nigeria’s response system for GBV survivors through coordinated health and social support structures.
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