How better data is helping to prevent gender-based violence in Nigeria.

The Spotlight Initiative-supported Gender-based Violence (GBV) Data Situation Room has significantly improved the ability of Nigerian civil society organizations to respond to violence against women and girls, according to local NGOs.

The data situation room is a critical tool for monitoring the prevalence of GBV and related trends in Nigeria. It provides a centralized database that collects, collates and analyses data on gender-based violence, including types of violence, locations of cases and the demographics of survivors. It does this by collecting data from various sources, including police reports, healthcare facilities and civil society organizations.

"As a community-based non-governmental organization, gaining access to recent and comprehensive real-time data on violence against women and girls has always posed a challenge," said Christina Uzo-Okamgba, Founder and Executive Director of Tabitha Empowerment Centre. "This narrative changed following the flag-off of the National Dashboard for reporting cases of gender-based violence in 2020. With this laudable initiative, Tabitha Empowerment Centre can interface with data at all levels, while developing and implementing programmes that will address the prevalent trends of violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Abuja."

The data situation room was developed by UNDP in collaboration with the Nigerian Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. It is a crucial tool in the fight against gender-based violence in Nigeria, as it enables policymakers and service providers to identify trends, patterns and areas with a high prevalence of gender-based violence in real time.

The launch of the data situation room in November 2020 by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed was a significant milestone in Nigeria's efforts to address gender-based violence. UNDP supported the establishment and expansion of the GBV data situation room from the initial 6 Spotlight Initiative states to 36 states of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory in 2022. This expansion was...