By Esther Onyegbula

The Leadership Initiative for Youth Empowerment (LIFE) has expressed concern over the entrenched nature of gender-based violence (GBV) in some communities, calling for urgent, collective action to address both the abuse and the cultural systems that enable it.

Speaking during a media briefing held Tuesday in Lagos, Oluwatoyin Mokwe, the Programme Officer at LIFE, provided key updates on the organization’s ongoing projects and highlighted the depth of societal resistance encountered in combating GBV.

“Our commitment to empowering youth, girls, and vulnerable females is at the core of everything we do, through advocacy, sensitization, innovative awareness creation, and research,” Mokwe said.

Mokwe disclosed that LIFE is currently running three major projects, two focused on gender-based violence and one aimed at reducing maternal morbidity linked to unsafe abortion. According to her, the awareness gap around GBV remains alarmingly wide, despite ongoing campaigns.

“As funny and unfortunate as it is, many people still don’t understand what GBV really is,” she said. “In one of our recent rescue efforts, a woman brutally beaten by her husband was not only denied justice but also thrown out of her own home by the landlord for reporting the abuse.”

Recounting the incident, Mokwe explained that the woman, who bore visible injuries including multiple swellings on her head and bite marks, was turned away by her community after she sought justice. LIFE accompanied her to the police, secured emergency medical treatment, and attempted to hold the abuser accountable.

However, Mokwe said the woman faced additional trauma when the community and her landlord condemned her for “breaking tradition” by involving law enforcement.

“He told her in Yoruba, ‘Once you go to the station, don’t come back here. I’m still the landlord.’ That same night, she was chased out of the house she paid for and the community itself,” Mokwe said.

She stressed that the community’s reaction revealed how GBV is often perpetuated not just by abusers, but by a complicit societal structure.

Executive Director of LIFE, Abiodun Rufus-Unegbu, said the event exemplifies the systemic nature of GBV in Nigeria.

“It’s not just the person hitting her who is guilty. The landlord, the people standing by and watching, the police officers asking insensitive questions, they are all part of the problem,” Rufus-Unegbu stated. “When a victim is punished for speaking up, the system is broken.”

According to the Executive Director, LIFE is now reassessing its strategies to further strengthen grassroots awareness and justice advocacy.

“We’ve made progress, community members even report cases to us now. But incidents like this show there’s still a huge gap,” Mokwe added. “Many don’t know GBV is a crime punishable by law. We must do more.”

Mokwe explained that the organization’s current interventions include two GBV-focused projects funded by the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and the Amplify Project. These initiatives involve public sensitization campaigns, community engagement, and legal aid support.

The third project addresses maternal health, specifically targeting unsafe abortions that contribute to Nigeria’s high maternal morbidity rates.

LIFE is urging stakeholders, including government agencies, community leaders, and the public, to confront societal norms that normalize violence and hinder justice.

“We all play a role, whether through silence, cultural justification, or outright support for abusers. Until we break this cycle, women will continue to suffer in silence”, Mokwe said.