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With the rising cases of Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence affecting more women and girls both in rural and urban communities, women groups, advocates and activities have called for stronger collaboration, survivor-centered responses, and legislative reforms to end Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) and Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls (TFVAWG).
At a one-day intergenerational dialogue meeting organised by the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) with support from the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UNTF), the dialogue which held in Lagos documented experiences, successes, and lessons learned from decades of women’s movements and coalition-building efforts across Nigeria.
In a welcome address by the acting Executive Director, WARDC, Dr. Princess Olufemi-Kayode, said, “today, we stand on the shoulders of generations of women who dared to challenge violence, inequality, and silence. We gather not just to speak, but to testify, to document the power of women’s movements, honour the legacy of feminist resistance, and ignite the fire of intergenerational solidarity.
“As we face the rising threats of TFGBV, we do so with renewed unity and unwavering resolve. This space will amplify the voices of those who have fought, are fighting, and will continue to fight for justice, dignity, and freedom,” she added.
In her presentation, Executive Director of TECHHerNG, Chioma Agwuegbo, emphasised that online abuse affects women differently across cultural and personal contexts. “Non-consensual intimate image abuse looks different for different people. For one woman, it could be a sex video leaked online; for another, simply sharing her photo without consent. Our responses must be survivor-centered and intersectional.”
She called for policy reform, survivor-led safety initiatives, and movement solidarity: “We need to come together. We are always stronger together, demand accountability, equip survivors, and push for online safety laws. This is not just a women’s issue; it is a societal crisis and we must all rise to confront it.”
Speaking on a panel, Gender inclusion advocate, Asmau Leo reframed stereotypes around women’s conversations, challenging the perception that when women gather, they merely gossip. “When women gather, people say they are gossiping. But gossip is really information sharing. In many communities, women are the first to know about threats like attacks long before social media because they talk to each other.”
She warned about the rise of harassment, blackmail, and sexual extortion through technology, especially targeting young women, “one in three women will face some form of violence in her lifetime. We have lost young women to suicide after intimate images were used to blackmail them. We must educate communities on digital safety and end this culture of silence.”
For Executive Director of at BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, Bunmi Dipo-Salami said that defeating violence against women requires mentorship, intergenerational collaboration, and male engagement. “Mentorship is key. We must build an army of responders because we are at war. There is need for rural and urban outreaches to ensure no woman is left behind.”
Highlighting the role of male allies in shifting cultural narratives and the importance of intersectional organising, she stressed, “men listen to men and some men want to end violence against women, we must identify them and learn strategies from them. We must break silos, bring in new voices, and organise effectively so every woman, from rural to urban spaces, has ownership of this movement.”
Co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, Aisha Yesufu, called for women to stop operating on the margins of politics and begin taking positions of real power. “This is the time to say we need to occupy every one of those positions not just in civil society but in the executive and legislative arms of government.
For Yesufu, many advocates and activists shy away from politics because it is seen as “dirty,” leaving space for entrenched interests to dominate. “Politics and activism are the same, they’re both about the greater good. The only difference is the approach. Unfortunately, when activists get into politics, we become still and lose ourselves. We must begin to change this narrative by moving beyond token roles.
She criticised the practice of relegating women to symbolic posts. “We cannot sit down like this when they are looking for people to clap for them, and then they call you ‘woman leader’. Stop that nonsense. Don’t call me woman leader. I am a leader.”
Reflecting on the feminist struggle, Yesufu criticised the culture of women who degrade themselves to gain approval and linked it to systemic conditioning from childhood and religion. “We’ve been taught that women can’t lead but leadership should be about servant-hood and impact, not gender.