Lagos Combats Teen Sexual Abuse WithYouth Advocacy Drive

By Sherif Salau

Lagos State is stepping up efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence through its Smart Teens Advocacy Initiative (STAI), designed to help adolescents identify abuse, understand their rights and report incidents. The initiative seeks to empower teenagers with the knowledge they need to protect themselves and contribute to safer communities.

Themed “Stay Safe, Speak Up,” the programme equips teenagers with practical knowledge to recognise different forms of abuse — physical, sexual, emotional and technology-facilitated — and to report them without fear of blame or silence. Executive Secretary of the agency, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, told the students that empowering young people to protect themselves and support their peers is central to breaking the cycle of abuse.

“Children should be able to seek help without being blamed for what happened to them,” she said, urging the teenagers to challenge harmful attitudes, promote respect and report incidents to trusted adults or the authorities.

The initiative builds on earlier work by the agency, including a booklet developed in partnership with AXA Mansard that covers consent, peer influence, online safety and healthy relationships. Under Lagos State’s Child’s Rights Law, anyone under 18 is legally a child and cannot give consent to sexual activity — a point the booklet and the school sessions reinforce clearly.

A keynote address by Mrs Aderonke Oyelakin of the Child Protection Network stressed the importance of recognising unsafe situations and making informed decisions, particularly online. Facilitator Bunmi Amosu led a session titled “Breaking the Silence in Our Schools,” walking students through the realities of abuse that often occur in familiar settings and the role they can play as peer advocates.

Students were reminded of the free, confidential DSVA hotline — 08000-333-333 — and assured that help, medical support and counselling are available. The agency presents the programme as part of a broader effort to move prevention into classrooms, turning abstract warnings into practical tools teenagers can use every day.

For many of the young people present, the message was straightforward: silence protects abusers. Speaking up, knowing one’s rights and looking out for friends can help keep schools and communities safer. The Smart Teens Advocacy Initiative is now rolling out with that simple but urgent goal in mind.