Communities Establish GBV Reporting Structures in Kwara — BBYDI
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Communities Establish GBV Reporting Structures in Kwara — BBYDI
By Kaosara Olayemi Oladimeji
The Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative, BBYDI has said communities in Kwara State have begun setting up local mechanisms to tackle gender-based violence, GBV following a two-year prevention programme.
The organisation disclosed that some communities now operate GBV reporting desks, social charters, and binding marriage agreements, with one community recording 12 reported cases, 10 of which were resolved through newly established structures.
The results were unveiled on Thursday at the second GBV Prevention Statewide Event held at the Kwara State Banquet Hall in Ilorin, with over 200 participants, including 14 traditional rulers, in attendance.
According to the group, it conducted 16 engagements with first-class traditional rulers and organised workshops across the state’s three senatorial districts during the programme.
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It noted that in Alalubosa, a community leader now heads a GBV reporting desk, while in Agbarere and Ganmo, social charters signed by religious, youth, and women leaders have been adopted to guide the handling of GBV cases.
The organisation also launched a Yoruba-language edition of its GBV Prevention Advocacy Toolkit, following requests from traditional leaders after the inaugural event held in 2025.
The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Social Development, Mariam Nnafatima Imam.
Also in attendance was the Balogun Alanamu of Ilorin Emirate, Usman Atolagbe Abubakar Jos, who represented the Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.
Speaking at the event, the Programme Officer for Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice at the Ford Foundation West Africa office, Izeduwa Derex-Briggs, emphasised the importance of prevention in addressing GBV.
“At Ford Foundation, we do not wait for violence to happen. We are invested in ensuring that GBV does not happen,” she said.
In her keynote address, Prof. Saudat Salah Abdulbaqi of the University of Ilorin urged traditional rulers to take an active stance against GBV, noting that most survivors first seek help within their communities.
“What leaders tolerate becomes culture. What leaders condemn begins to change,” she said.
The organisation further outlined its AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot, KEMI, designed to support women and girls facing technology-facilitated GBV across West Africa.
It also announced the inauguration of a 21-member multi-stakeholder committee on GBV in Kwara State as part of efforts to sustain the intervention.
