Access Drive Capacity Development Foundation has intensified efforts to combat online exploitation by training over 3,000 girls, parents, and teachers in Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun states on digital safety and responsible internet use.

The year-long initiative, Digital Safety Girls Project, implemented with support from Google.org and Impact Amplifier, targeted growing threats such as cyberbullying, sextortion, phishing, and oversharing of personal information that expose children, especially girls, to online predators.

Through the project, 3,028 girls from 22 secondary schools, alongside 661 parents and teachers, were trained on how to navigate the internet safely.
Digital Safety Clubs were also set up, while an online safety challenge encouraged the student-led solutions.

Executive Director of Access Drive, Adeniyi Oluokun, on Thursday, said the project demonstrated how empowering girls and equipping parents and teachers can create safer digital environments.

Oluokun said risks such as cyberbullying, sextortion, phishing, and oversharing of personal information put children, especially girls, at greater vulnerability.
He said the project addressed those gaps directly by training students, parents, and teachers on safe online practices, responsible internet use, and the importance of building resilience in the digital space.

According to him, as part of the initiative, digital safety clubs were established in schools, giving girls opportunities to take on leadership roles while leading awareness campaigns for their peers and communities.

The project also introduced an online safety challenge, where students applied their knowledge to real-world solutions.

He said: “The impact of the project was confirmed through post-training assessments. Among students, 99 percent now know what makes a strong password, and 95 percent understand how to protect themselves from online sexual harassment.
“Parents and teachers also reported dramatic improvements: 90 percent said they had changed how they guide children online, 100 percent understood major online risks, and 99 percent had taken proactive steps like changing their own passwords and sharing their knowledge with colleagues.

Clegg Girls Senior High School emerged overall winner with a phishing detection software, followed by Ajigbeda Girls Senior High School, which conducted community sensitization campaigns, and Obele Community Senior High School, which held school-wide awareness programmes.