A survey across 35 states in Nigeria by Invictus Africa, a civic tech-driven organisation, has shown that 10 years after the passage of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP Act), more than half of Nigerians are unaware of its existence or the provisions of the law.
The Executive Director of the body, Bukky Shonibare, stated this while presenting the survey to the media yesterday in Abuja.
She said Invictus Africa conducted a national survey using a mixed sample population of 11,574 Nigerians from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in 35 states (excluding Kano) and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as government officials and NGOs.
“Only 49.3% of the surveyed population had ever heard of the VAPP Law; among them, only 29% reported having a good understanding of its provisions. 50.7 per cent of Nigerians have never heard of the VAPP Law.
“Educational attainment strongly influences awareness levels. Individuals with no formal education (23.8%) or those with only primary education (23.9%) were far less likely to have heard of the VAPP Law than those with tertiary education (55.4% of graduates and 60.6% of postgraduates),” she said.
Shonibare pointed out that geographic and occupational disparities are stark, as “Only 42.9 per cent of rural residents are aware of the law, compared to 54.0% of those living in urban areas.”
The report also states that NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) workers are 75.2 per cent aware; civil servants ranked highest in awareness with 59.7 per cent, while the lowest awareness rates were found among the self-employed, students, and unemployed individuals with 40.6%, 46.3%, and 36.9% respectively.
Four thematic areas were highlighted as drivers of the report, and they include public awareness, enforcement systems, support services, and coordination mechanisms.
She listed Kwara, Rivers, and Delta states as the least among states that are ‘poorly performing’ in terms of implementation of the Act.
The body stressed the urgent need to close the gap between what the law says and the lived experience of Nigerians, despite the decade-long passage of the VAPP Act on May 25, 2015.
She pointed out that “In terms of enforcement, the survey reveals both progress and persistent weaknesses. Of the 35 states and the FCT assessed, 23 have established sex offenders’ registers, yet only 18 have integrated these into broader GBV tracking systems.
“This limits the registers’ utility for preventing repeat offences or informing policy decisions. Courts in 32 states have provisions on issuing Protection Orders, but 19 could not provide data on their issuance.”
These gaps, according to Invictus Africa, show serious gaps in monitoring and accountability.
The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Bello, said that the agency, as the implementer of the VAPP Act in the FCT, has so far been able to secure 36 convictions including two life sentences from the over 3,000 gender-based reports it has received in the nation’s capital.
Represented by the Acting Director, Violence Against Persons Department, Tolu Odugbesan, she said, “Public awareness is a tool that needs to be tuned up to achieve the much-needed implementation and impact of the VAPP Act.”
Speaking on the importance of data in the implementation of the VAPP Act, Gender Advisor and rights activist, Ene Ede, while commending Invictus Africa on the quality of the survey, said data is essential to know areas of improvement and where efforts need to be scaled up.
