A community works to end gender-based violence: Elizabeth’s story

Regular and open communication is key to her achieving success as a community leader. “Our people need to know how and why some of our regular actions, attitudes and beliefs constitute violence against other persons, especially women,” she said.  

In-person discussions, both formal and informal, along with connecting with members on a WhatsApp platform – facilitated by the Spotlight Initiative – are opportunities to find home-grown solutions to the root causes of gender-based violence.

Research shows that gender-based violence is a  global problem that continues to limit women and girls from achieving their full potential, and a survey published by NOIPolls in July 2019 suggest that up to one in every three girls living in Nigeria experiences at least one form of sexual assault by the time they reach 25 years old.

Elizabeth’s first intervention as an activist was on behalf of a 19-year-old pregnant widow and mother of a toddler who was physically assaulted by her in-laws, rendered homeless, and dispossessed of the financial benefits paid to her by her late husband’s employer.  

To Elizabeth, this was a violation of the widow’s rights, especially since the perpetrators were receiving their own financial benefits from the same employer. However, she said it took tact to avoid “causing a permanent rift in the family, as the widow and her children will forever remain part of the extended family.”

She rallied other community women and worked with civil society organizations and the Nigerian police force. As a result, the hijacked financial benefits were recovered in full. She also helped the widow to buy a plot of land with the recovered money and build a home, where she currently lives with her children.