Insensitive Reporting Re-Traumatises Sexual Violence Survivors—NAPTIP

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has urged journalists to adopt ethical and survivor-centred approaches when reporting sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases to prevent survivors from suffering further victimisation.

NAPTIP said the media had a critical role to play in raising awareness about SGBV, promoting accountability and ensuring that survivors were not subjected to further trauma through insensitive reporting.

The agency made the call in Abuja on Friday during the launch of a dedicated SGBV Media Corps, established in collaboration with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).
The initiative is supported by the European Union through its End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (ESGBV) Programme.

The Media Corps was launched during a two-day capacity-building workshop for journalists covering SGBV, with participants drawn from the Federal Capital Territory and Kaduna State.

The training was designed to equip journalists with skills to report SGBV cases accurately, responsibly and from a survivor-centred perspective.

The organisers said the initiative would address harmful reporting practices, including victim blaming, sensationalism, breaches of privacy and the use of language or images capable of exposing, stigmatising or further traumatising survivors.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, NAPTIP’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoye, welcomed participants and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to improving public understanding and media coverage of SGBV.

Adekoye said journalists could help shape public attitudes towards SGBV while ensuring that survivors were treated with ddignity He said the media’s role went beyond reporting incidents, stressing that sustained and responsible coverage could help expose abuse, promote accountability and encourage survivors to seek justice.

The workshop opened with a presentation on the EU-supported End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Programme by Wynyfred Achu-Egbuson, Civil Society and Community Mobilisation Specialist at International IDEA.

Achu-Egbuson said the Media Corps was established to equip journalists with the knowledge and skills required to report SGBV responsibly while supporting the implementation of laws and policies designed to protect survivors.

She said the programme would also strengthen institutions, improve coordination among stakeholders and support the enforcement of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act across Nigeria.

One of the facilitators, Toyin Adewale-Gabriel, said journalists had a responsibility to break the silence surrounding sexual and gender-based violence through sustained and responsible reporting.

Adewale-Gabriel cited findings showing that 21 percent of Nigerian women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical or sexual violence, while 58 percent of survivors did not seek help or report their experiences.

She urged journalists to adopt ethical and survivor-centred reporting practices capable of raising awareness, encouraging survivors to seek support and contributing to wider social change.

Another facilitator, Dr Tim Aniebonam, examined gender roles, stereotypes and the influence of the media in shaping public attitudes towards SGBV.

Aniebonam warned journalists against reinforcing harmful societal stereotypes, urging them to use their platforms to provide accurate information, expose abuse and hold perpetrators and institutions accountable.

He also called for sustained reporting of SGBV cases, saying journalists should move beyond one-off reports and follow cases until justice is achieved.

Dr Lauratu Abdulsalam, who spoke on media stereotypes, victim blaming and reporting challenges, warned that headlines, language, visuals and reporting angles could either protect survivors or deepen their trauma.

She urged journalists, influencers and community correspondents to ensure that their reports remained ethical, evidence-based and focused on accountability rather than blaming victims.

Dr Armsfree Ajanaku, who addressed international and regional frameworks on SGBV, said instruments including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Maputo Protocol and the Sustainable Development Goals complemented Nigeria’s domestic laws in protecting survivors and promoting accountability.

Ajanaku said ending SGBV required sustained commitment from government, civil society organisations, development partners, the media and citizens.
Adekoye also took participants through NAPTIP’s mandate and the implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.

He disclosed that 34 states had domesticated the VAPP Act, leaving Kogi and Delta states as the only states yet to do so.

The NAPTIP spokesperson further disclosed that the agency had secured three life-imprisonment convictions in SGBV-related cases.

He, however, warned that technology-facilitated abuse was creating new challenges in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence.

According to him, greater public awareness and stronger collaboration among relevant stakeholders were required to tackle emerging forms of abuse facilitated by technology.

The training also covered confidentiality, privacy and informed consent in reporting cases involving victims and survivors, as well as responsible language and framing, survivor-centred visual ethics, victimology, types of victims and theories of victimisation.

Participants were also exposed to Nigeria’s national legal and regulatory framework, NAPTIP’s mandate and provisions of the VAPP Act.

Some journalists who participated in the workshop commended NAPTIP, International IDEA and the European Union for the initiative, saying it had improved their understanding of ethical and survivor-centred reporting.

One participant urged the organisers to fast-track the next phase of the programme to deepen journalists’ knowledge and strengthen their capacity to advocate for survivors through their reportage.

Another called on journalists to apply the lessons from the training by avoiding victim blaming, giving survivors a voice and consistently promoting ethical reporting.

The organisers said the Media Corps would provide journalists with the tools needed to improve SGBV reporting while ensuring that media coverage did not stigmatise, expose or further traumatise victims and survivors.