Inside Womanity Index: How Data is Fueling Action Against GBV in Nigeria

Nantes, France has implemented a comprehensive city-wide strategy to combat gender inequality through multiple coordinated initiatives. The centerpiece is Citad'elles, a, 24/7 shelter that centralizes 18 nonprofit organizations offering legal, psychological, and medical services for women experiencing violence, eliminating the need to travel to multiple locations across the city. Since opening in 2019, Citad'elles has served over 5,500 women, averaging three new users daily and 450 follow-up appointments monthly.

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) provides comprehensive survivor support services including legal aid, medical care, shelters, and prevention programs, successfully building public trust and securing 140+ convictions while reaching 6.3 million people through awareness campaigns, though significant gaps remain between the 8,692 reported cases and actual access to justice and support services.

The community networks of women defenders in Piura are organized structures that, since 2018, have provided accompaniment, training, and inter-institutional coordination to victims of gender-based violence, combining psychological support, legal pathways, and economic empowerment. Since their founding, more women have reported violence, coordination between public institutions such as police and prosecutor's offices have improved, and survivors have transformed into leaders who break cycles of violence in their communities. Read this story in Spanish here: https://solu.news/mvw1

Mujeres Sembrando Vida is a network of women that supports victims of sexual and domestic violence by guiding them through the reporting process, ensuring cases are handled appropriately by authorities, and holding workshops for women about gender equality and their rights. The group has also set up a collective savings account to help women in emergencies.

Areas of High Point, North Carolina have suffered from crime, poverty, and neglect, until the city began implementing Operation Ceasefire, a policing program that uses data collecting, community support against crime. High Point is now leading the country in its success of Operation Ceasefire, boasting dramatic reductions in violent crimes, domestic abuse, robberies, and drug-related offenses.

The Doula C-Hot program trains birth workers to assess and prepare pregnant clients for climate-related health risks like hurricanes and extreme heat, successfully training 12 doulas who have helped over 40 clients better prepare for environmental threats during pregnancy.

While locals wait for an anti-witchcraft bill to pass to provide protection for women against unproven accusations of witchcraft, several organizations are working to close “witch camps” and help women return home to their families. So far, these organizations’ combined efforts have led to the closure of two of the six camps in the northern part of the country.

Lideresas indígenas—desde sus comunidades: los pueblos Lenca, Kakawira y Nahua-Pipil—decidieron organizarse y crear el Observatorio Nacional Sijsihuat Mejmetzaly, donde están aprendiendo a levantar datos desde sus propias realidades. Juntos, por la primera vez, han comenzado a nombrar las múltiples violencias que atraviesan a las mujeres indígenas en El Salvador.

WARAKA Sexual Referral Centre provides services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including medical assistance and legal support. Amidst issues of confidentiality and stigma that prevent people from reporting cases of SGBV, the group uses an app that allows survivors to choose whether they share their identity or not when reporting an SGBV case. The app has recorded about 2,000 cases since 2022, inspiring the government to take action and enact relevant legislation to protect human rights and safety.

Groups like Women in New Nigeria and Youth Empowerment Initiative (WINN), in collaboration with local leaders, are addressing stigma and providing support services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violencev(SGBV). These groups educate survivors on the violence they endured, provides them with a safe space to rest and engages them in the community to fight feelings of isolation SGBV survivors often face.