The Urgent Call to UNITE

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is more than an annual observance, it is a critical opportunity to move communities from passive awareness to active commitment and lasting behavioral change. This was the central focus of Oxfam's Improving Social Cohesion through Community Development Planning project, funded by the German Government and the European Union, as we mobilized schools, leaders, and community members across Biu, Kwaya-kusar, and Guyuk LGAs in North East Nigeria.

Our message was direct and aligned with the global campaign: UNITE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) has found a new, insidious frontier in the digital space. This challenge demands a new kind of activism: one focused on digital responsibility and collective protection.

Five campaign staff holding placards with messages like "Digital Safety is a Human Right" and "Technology for Equality, Not for Abuse."

Digital Safety is a Human Right: Oxfam and partner staff holding up campaign placards emphasizing the need for safe digital spaces for women and girls in the North East.

Advocacy team inaugurating a traditional leader (Emir of Biu) as a Gender Champion, presenting an Orange T-shirt with the text "Say NO to Online Abuse."

Inauguration of a Gender Champion: The Emir of Biu Emirate in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, is presented with a campaign T-shirt, formalizing his role as an Anti-GBV Gender Champion, a major institutional commitment of the CDP project.

Champions of Change: Shifting the Power Structure

A violence-free society begins with the commitment of its leaders. Our campaign strategically engaged traditional and institutional leaders to transform them from authority figures into active advocates for gender justice.

This engagement resulted in a profound behavioral shift:

  • Traditional Leadership Pledges: An advocacy visit to the Biu Emir Palace culminated in the Emir being inaugurated as a Gender Champion for the Biu Emirate. He expressed a strong commitment to fight against GBV, both online and offline, and pledged to use his influence to promote community sensitization and mobilize the district.
  • Institutional Buy-in: The Commandant of Command Girls Secondary School in Miringa and the District Head of Kwaya-kusar were also inaugurated as Gender Champions. This ensures that the commitment to safety is institutionalized, providing a new culture of protection within educational environments.

Youth Driving Behavioral Change: From Silence to Solidarity

The true measure of our success was the public commitment made by the students who represent the future of these communities. We empowered them to reject the behavior of silence and become active participants in prevention.

Empowering the Ally: Significant Other Male Engagement (SOME)

A core component of our campaign challenged male students and teachers to be active allies and co-responsible partners. The session emphasized that ending violence is a fundamental human rights issue and a shared responsibility. We focused on how men and boys must reject harmful gender norms, address their own complicity, and take a supportive role to ensure a community where women and girls can thrive, secure in their right to safety and opportunity, including achieving high professions like Chief of Defence Staff or Minister of Finance.

A Public Pledge

The most moving display of behavioral change was the Practical Session. Participants dipped their hands in paint, symbolizing people of different backgrounds, tribes, and professions, and placed their prints on an artwork, publicly declaring their personal calls to action. Pledges included: "Let her be safe online and offline," and "Online harassment is real". This art piece, presented to the school management, serves as a lasting memory and reflection of their united efforts and a promise to sustain their new commitment against violence.

Beyond the symbolic, students were taught to adopt safe digital behaviors. This included verifying information before sharing, avoiding posting too much personal information, and handling social media content carefully to prevent it from being misused to affect future opportunities.

Student kneeling, placing a colorful handprint on a large white canvas on the ground as part of a collective commitment ceremony against GBV.

A student dips her hand in paint during the practical session, making her personal commitment to fight against violence a permanent part of the communal artwork.

Building a Holistic Safety Net

We seized the opportunity to integrate other essential components of safety:

  • Safeguarding and Reporting: The Safeguarding session taught participants what protection entails and, crucially, educated them on the right or legal channels to follow and report violence. This empowers individuals with the confidence to step out of silence and access justice.
  • HIV/AIDS and VAWG: As the campaign coincided with World AIDS Day (December 1st), an awareness session highlighted a critical link: violence against women and girls (sexual abuse/exploitation) can lead to the transmission of STDs like HIV/AIDS. The core message, "Awareness, testing, and treatment save lives," reinforces that safety and health are interconnected.

Sustaining the Momentum

The 2025 16 Days of Activism successfully strengthen new collaborations. The events reinforced community awareness and empowered young people to contribute to a violence-free society.

However, the challenge persists. We recognize the need to address the limited knowledge on GBV in the Borno axis and the existing lack of GBV case management services and referral pathways.

To sustain the progress made and ensure these new commitments translate into permanent behavioral change, we advocate for:

  • More resource allocation for GBV programming.
  • Training school management on gender-based violence.
  • Identifying and advocating for GBV referral pathways in the Northeast.

Continued collaboration among stakeholders is essential in transforming a week of activism into a lifetime of change. Join us to ensure every woman and girl can live freely without fear of harm, both online and offline.

Oxfam team holding up a large, white, whistle-shaped board covered in diverse colored handprints, symbolizing a collective call to action against violence.

The Art of Commitment: Oxfam team members hold up the final artwork, a whistle shape covered in multi-colored handprints, created by students to symbolize their united effort to 'blow the whistle' on violence.