Her last cry: Plight of sexual and gender- based violence survivors

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

If 20-year-old Favour Agbro had known where to turn after she returned from Asaba, the capital of Delta State, traumatised by what she alleged was rape and physical assault, would her story have ended differently?

According to reports, the nursing student had travelled from Ughelli North to Asaba on June 1, 2026, believing she was taking a step towards building a future in content creation after connecting with popular Asaba-based content creator, Ifeanyi Ogbonna, popularly known as Odogwu of Asaba.

Instead, according to allegations contained in a petition by her family, Favour returned home traumatised after an encounter with Ogbonna, whom she accused of sexually and physically assaulting her.

Days later, she recorded a tearful video recounting her ordeal and then ingested a toxic substance. She died while receiving medical treatment.

She was only 20. If life expectancy for a Nigerian woman is 55, according to the United Nations and World Health Organization, Favour’s 35 years were wasted by those that were supposed to help her.

What of her contributions to her family? Her contributions to Delta State and her contributions to the country as a nurse and, perhaps, one day becoming a voice for other women and girls ended at 20.

Her death has left behind a painful question that goes beyond the allegations against the suspect: where does a survivor go immediately after violence?

This question is at the heart of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) referral pathway outlined in the SGBV Media Corps Manual developed by the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) and International IDEA, which emphasised that survivors should be connected to healthcare, psychosocial support, policing, legal assistance, justice and other social services through an accessible and survivor-centred referral system.

Internationally, the right of women and girls to protection from violence and discrimination is anchored in instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to which Nigeria is a party.

The international framework places obligations on states to prevent violence, protect survivors and ensure access to remedies and support.

UN Women noted that CEDAW recommendations to Nigeria have specifically called for survivors of violence and trafficking to have access to shelters, legal, medical and psychosocial assistance and rehabilitation.

At the national level, Nigeria has translated some of these obligations into domestic legislation, most notably the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, which provides a legal framework against different forms of violence and for the protection and assistance of victims.

UN Women reported that, by 2023, 35 of Nigeria’s 36 states had domesticated the VAPP Act, strengthening legal protection against sexual violence, harmful practices and domestic abuse.

Kaduna State domesticated the law in 2018 through its Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law. The state law goes beyond criminalising violence by recognising survivors’ entitlement to necessary medical, psychological, social and legal assistance, information about available services, rehabilitation and reintegration.

That legal promise, however, raises a practical question: after the violence, where does a survivor actually go?

According to the SGBV Media Corps Manual, the first point of contact as an “entry point” could be a hospital, community centre, shelter or safe space, but it could equally be a trusted relative, teacher, religious or community leader, police officer, midwife or hotline operator.

The manual citied national data, saying 31 percent of Nigerian women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence, while 9 percent have experienced sexual violence.

More troubling from the perspective of access to support, 58 percent of women who experienced violence did not seek help and did not tell anyone.

In Kaduna, the manual recorded 1,259 GBV cases by November 2024, representing a 30 percent increase over the previous year, attributed to increased awareness.

What matters is whether that first contact can connect the survivor to the right services without exposing her to further danger, stigma or trauma.

The manual defined referral as the process through which a survivor is linked to services or support, stressing that referral networks should connect survivors to healthcare, psychosocial services, policing, justice, legal recourse and other social services.

Such networks are expected to be accessible, voluntary, non-coercive, rights-based and sensitive to gender and age.

Kaduna’s 2018 law provided a legal basis for that coordination by requiring the responsible ministry, which is Ministry for Human Services and Social Development, which is now known as Ministry for Women Affairs, to maintain a register of accredited service providers and circulate it to police stations, protection officers and courts.

For a survivor of sexual assault, the first referral may be medical, for obvious reasons, necessary tests to protect evidence.

The manual identified Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) as one-stop facilities where survivors can receive medical examination, psychosocial support, counselling and other services at no cost.

In Kaduna, the manual listed Salama Centres at Awan General Hospital, Kakuri; Yusuf Dantsoho Memorial Hospital, Tudun Wada; Hajiya Gambo Sawaba General Hospital, Zaria; and Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa General Hospital, Kafanchan.

But the availability of a referral centre does not necessarily mean access, as many survivors do not know where to seek help and fear, stigma and lack of information can prevent access even when services exist.

Inadequate safe homes is also a serious gap, with some survivors forced to remain in abusive situations because they have nowhere else to go.

Kaduna’s VAPP Law recognised the importance of addressing this gap, providing that victims are entitled to necessary medical, psychological, social and legal assistance and should be informed of available services and given access to them.

It also provided for rehabilitation and reintegration, including skills acquisition, education and, where necessary, access to microcredit.

The challenge, therefore, is no longer simply whether such rights exist in law, but whether survivors can reach them.

For those who need protection from further violence, the question becomes even more urgent. A woman escaping an abusive partner may need temporary accommodation; a child may need protection from an alleged perpetrator; and a survivor rejected by family members may need a safe place while pursuing medical and legal support.

What this means is that shelters and safe spaces are important parts of survivor-centred response, which require greater investment in them.

The pathway then moves from protection to justice. The manual placed policing and legal recourse within the referral network, meaning that reporting a case should not leave the survivor to navigate the criminal justice system alone.

Kaduna’s VAPP Law similarly gave accredited service providers power to assist with reporting, medical examination and referrals to protection officers, police and courts.

Yet, access to justice can itself become another source of trauma.

The manual described “secondary victimisation” as additional harm caused by insensitive institutional or individual responses, including disbelief, intimidation, humiliating questioning and intrusive interviews.

Such experiences can deepen trauma, undermine trust in authorities and discourage survivors from pursuing justice.

Now, eight principles for referrals include safety, confidentiality, respect, non-discrimination, informed consent, do no harm, the best interests of the survivor and timely access to quality services.

These principles provide a useful test of whether Kaduna’s legal and referral framework is working from the survivor’s perspective.

The state’s recent effort to strengthen its referral system is, therefore, significant.

The Kaduna Government has introduced a GBV referral directory, referral protocol and toll-free reporting lines intended to improve coordination and connect survivors with appropriate services.

But the real measure of the system would be whether a survivor who makes that first call is actually taken through the chain, that is, from reporting to medical care, counselling, protection, legal assistance and, where necessary, shelter and rehabilitation.

Ultimately, Kaduna does not lack a legal framework on paper. There are international obligations, Nigeria’s VAPP Act, Kaduna’s 2018 VAPP Law, referral centres, service providers and an increasingly structured referral system.

The harder question is whether all these pieces connect when a survivor needs them most because after the violence, a survivor needs more than a law to exist.

She needs someone to answer. She needs somewhere safe to go. She needs medical and psychosocial care. She needs information about her rights.

The true test of Kaduna’s SGBV response, therefore, is not simply how many laws or referral mechanisms exist but whether survivors like Favour can move through them safely from violence to protection, justice and recovery.