By Moses Nosike

Initiative to Resist Institutional Slavery and Exploitation (IRISE) has trained the Nigerian journalists on Rights-based, Evidence-driven Reporting in SRHR: From Data to Impact. It also advised on proper use of words in reporting.
However, the two-day training which took place in Lagos, Nigeria, between Thursday 26 and Friday 27, February, 2026, had in attendance reporters, editors and publishers from reputable media houses across the country.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director, IRISE, Omodele Ibitoye Ejeh, said, “The training was designed to bring media professionals together to examine how sexual and reproductive health issues are being reported and how narratives can influence public perception.
Ejeh said, “The media plays a critical role in shaping societal understanding of sensitive issues, including abortion and survivors of sexual violence. The message is bringing media partners together to look at how sexual and reproductive health and rights are being reported and what picture the media is painting, especially around abortion rights and human autonomy”.
She revealed that the event was also to highlight the safe termination of pregnancy guidelines introduced by the Lagos state government in 2022 to guide service providers in protecting the lives of women and girls. “The guideline was misunderstood and subsequently suspended shortly after its launch. “The guideline is not a law promoting abortion. It is meant to guide service providers on how to protect the lives of women and girls from dying due to unsafe practices.
Continuing, Ejeh said, “IRISE is presently engaging policymakers, community leaders and the media to create awareness about the guideline and advocate its reinstatement. Our call to action is that the guideline should be reinstated. Lagos is a pace-setter, and when Lagos leads, others will follow,” she said.
Ejeh also stressed the need to address stigma and victim-blaming in cases of sexual violence, calling on society to hold perpetrators accountable and support survivors.
In addition, the Coordinator of the African Women Lawyers Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch, Adesola Bello, stressed the importance of ethical reporting in cases involving survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. She encouraged journalists to avoid judgmental languages and ensure that reports do not expose survivors to further trauma.
Bello defined SRHR from a human right perspective, saying that it refers to the right of every person to make decisions about their body free from discrimination, access quality reproductive health services and enjoy bodily autonomy and dignity.
“Ethical reporting should not be judgmental. Journalists should focus on the perpetrators and the offense committed rather than the survivor’s actions or behaviour”.
She said, “Consent must be obtained before sharing survivors’ stories and warned against publishing explicit details that could stigmatise victims”.
On challenges affecting prosecution of cases, she explained that stigma often discourages survivors from pursuing justice.
She also called for continued sensitisation of law enforcement officers to ensure that survivors are treated with dignity and respect. Bello advised survivors of abuse to seek immediate help at medical centres or report to the gender unit of the police to enable proper investigation and access to justice.
A data analyst and monitoring and evaluation officer, IRISE, Esther Udoh, who spoke on the topic, Evidence-driven Reporting: Using Verified Data, Research and Statistics in Stories, Fact-Checking Tips, said, “The media has to understand that data is very important. She added that stories without data are just opinions. She said “Data brings credibility, evidence.

CAPTION: Cross session of journalist participants and organisers of the two-day training organised by IRISE in Lagos recently.