ABUJA, Nigeria — An estimated 42.3 per cent of female students in Nigeria experience gender-based violence during their education, a federal justice official has said.
Yewande Gbola-Awopetu, head of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Unit at the Federal Ministry of Justice, cited the figure at a three-day training programme for teachers, school administrators, counsellors, police officers and child-protection professionals.
The workshop opened in Abuja on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, and focused on how institutions should respond when a student reports sexual abuse, harassment, physical violence or other forms of gender-related harm.
The training centred on a Standard Operating Procedure developed in 2024 to provide a legal pathway for handling school-related gender-based violence, from the first disclosure by a child to the investigation and prosecution of an alleged offender.
Abuse Disrupts Education
Gbola-Awopetu said the prevalence estimate came from a systematic review examining gender-based violence in educational settings.
“These are not just statistics. They are lives disrupted, futures threatened and opportunities denied,” she said.
She also cited research published in PLOS Global Public Health in 2025, which found that 69.4 per cent of adolescents surveyed in rural and urban communities in South-West Nigeria reported experiencing at least one form of sexual violence from the age of 12.
That study covered both girls and boys, as well as adolescents who were in school and those who were not.
Researchers reported higher rates among out-of-school participants and boys, underlining that its findings should not be interpreted as a measure applying only to female students or to all Nigerian adolescents.
The study included a wide range of experiences, from non-contact abuse to unwanted physical contact, forced intercourse and transactional sex.
Its authors said more nationwide data would be required to measure the scale of the problem across Nigeria accurately.
At the Abuja workshop, officials said violence could force children to withdraw from lessons, perform poorly, avoid school or leave the education system entirely.
“Girls account for 60 per cent of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Every girl who leaves school because she was assaulted, harassed or felt unsafe represents not only a personal tragedy but a permanent loss to Nigeria’s human capital,” Gbola-Awopetu said.
A Framework From Disclosure to Prosecution
The new training was designed to address failures that can occur after abuse is reported.
Authorities said cases were sometimes weakened by delayed investigations, incomplete documentation, lost evidence, poor communication among agencies and uncertainty over which institution was responsible for taking the next step.
“Too many cases go undocumented. Too many survivors are denied justice. Too many institutions lack the procedural clarity required to respond effectively,” Gbola-Awopetu said.
She described the Standard Operating Procedure as “a coordinated accountability framework” intended to establish clear responsibilities for educators, counsellors, healthcare workers, law-enforcement officers and prosecutors.
The procedure covers reporting, referral, evidence preservation, case management and legal action. Its purpose is to ensure that a complaint does not end with a child’s disclosure but moves through a defined system of protection and accountability.
Gbola-Awopetu said schools must also provide spaces in which children can report abuse without fear of retaliation, blame or humiliation.
“The creation of safe spaces is really integral to the fight against school-related gender-based violence.
“The child needs an environment where they can speak freely, knowing they will not be judged, silenced or stigmatised, and that justice will be served,” she said.
Teachers and Police Cast as Frontline Responders
Melissa Omene, a gender-based violence policy and strategy development specialist with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, said abuse in educational settings could take several forms.
She identified sexual harassment, exploitation, bullying, corporal punishment, harmful traditional practices and abuse carried out through digital technology.
“Recent studies reveal that 18 per cent of sexual violence incidents occur in schools, while 25 per cent of children report experiencing corporal punishment by teachers. These are not just statistics; they reflect the lived experiences of children,” Omene said.
She warned that survivors could experience declining academic performance, psychological distress and an increased risk of dropping out.
“Your actions, or inaction, can determine whether a child receives protection, support and justice, or remains silent,” she told participants.
Teachers and school counsellors are often the first adults to notice changes in a child’s behaviour or receive a direct report of abuse. Police officers and legal officials may then be responsible for securing evidence and preparing a case without further traumatising the survivor.
The workshop brought those groups together with school administrators, civil society organisations and other education and protection officials in an effort to reduce the gaps between reporting, medical care, investigation and prosecution.
Training Expected to Continue in Schools
Augustina Apakasa, head of the Gender Unit at the Federal Ministry of Education, urged those attending the programme to pass the knowledge to colleagues after leaving Abuja.
“The knowledge and experience you gain during this training should not remain within the four walls of this room. Please translate them into concrete action,” she said.
She also said Nigerian children were entitled to attend school without fear.
“Every child, and I mean every child, in Nigeria deserves to learn in an environment free from fear, discrimination and violence.
“Together, we can build schools where every child is loved, every child is valued and every child is protected.”
The Federal Ministry of Education has distributed the procedure to Nigeria’s 115 Federal Unity Colleges, according to International IDEA.
Participants are expected to train personnel within their institutions and help schools establish more consistent systems for preventing and responding to violence.
Elizabeth Ebulejonu Achimugu, executive director of the Protect the Child Foundation, described teachers as essential first responders because of their daily contact with students.
“Securing justice for one child, whether a girl or a boy, is not the responsibility of a single individual. It requires teamwork, knowledge, coordination and cooperation,” she said.
“The aim is to ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished, whether the perpetrator is another child, a teacher or an adult.”
EU Programme Targets Institutional Failures
The workshop was organised under the European Union Support to End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Programme in Nigeria.
The programme is funded by the European Union and implemented by International IDEA with Nigerian government institutions and civil society partners.
It runs from December 2025 to December 2029 and has received €18 million in funding.
Its objectives include improving legal and policy systems, expanding access to healthcare and legal assistance for survivors, strengthening referral centres and confronting social attitudes that allow violence to continue.
The initiative is being implemented at the federal level and in the Federal Capital Territory, Benue, Kaduna and Oyo states.
Officials said participants in the school-focused training would help build response systems that protect survivors while ensuring that accused persons are investigated and prosecuted through recognised legal procedures.
For Gbola-Awopetu, the success of the programme will be measured not by the existence of a policy document, but by what happens when the next child asks an institution for help.
“You are the institutional actors who will determine whether the next child who discloses abuse encounters a system that protects or a system that fails,” she said.
