The 2014 abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in northern Nigeria by members of the militant group Boko Haram brought the world’s attention to the plight of women and girls in Nigeria. Unfortunately, however, the Chibok incident was not the first nor the last time that girls would be the target of exploitation and violence in Nigeria. In addition to a spate of kidnappings and abductions that have occurred across the north for several years, women and girls throughout Nigeria remain vulnerable to the effects of violence and conflict. They are often the first to suffer and the last to be protected.
Between 2014-2016, in collaboration with the Nigeria Stabilization and Reconciliation Program (NSRP), we helped to establish Observatory Platforms to monitor and track incidents of violence affecting women and girls (VAWG) in eight Nigerian states where women and girls are most at risk. These Observatories allowed FFP and stakeholders to:
- measure trends in VAWG against overall levels of violence and fatalities;
- identify opportunities for prevention and response; and
- increase reporting and break the “culture of silence” around VAWG.
Drawing on data sourced from the Observatory Platforms and local initiatives and leaders, as well as other datasets of conflict events, we mapped incidents of VAWG on a digital platform which informed the production of monthly bulletins. These bulletins, which tracked both specific incidents of VAWG as well as overall trends in each state, were circulated to key stakeholders who were in a position to both respond and prevent future occurrences of VAWG.
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