A civil society coalition has urged governments in Nigeria’s South-West to work more closely together to close persistent gaps in preventing and responding to gender-based violence GBV across the region.

The Executive Director of the Balm in Gilead Foundation for Sustainable Development BIGIF Tumininu Adedeji made the call in Ado Ekiti during an inter-state consultative dialogue on GBV prevention and response themed Strengthening Women’s Rights Organisations in Nigeria for GBV Prevention.

The dialogue, convened by BIGIF in partnership with the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement and the Ford Foundation, brought together officials and advocates from Ekiti and Ondo states, with similar sessions planned for Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos.

Adedeji said that while all six South-West states had expanded their GBV interventions, survivors still struggled to access timely, quality services because of weak coordination, uneven implementation and under-resourced systems.

Survivors still face barriers in accessing timely quality services, and too often, responses are limited. This underscores the urgent need for stronger collaboration and knowledge sharing among states so that we can identify what works, what fails and how to close the gaps, she said.

She emphasised that policies and programmes must be grounded in data and lived realities, warning that ad hoc or politically driven initiatives would not deliver lasting protection for women and girls.

Ekiti State Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice Gbemiga Adaramola described GBV as a public failure of systems, coordination and political will, not a private tragedy.

We are here to move from reactive sorrow to proactive strategy. Every survivor who is silenced, every perpetrator who walks free, and every referral centre that lacks resources represents a gap we must collectively seal, he said.

Adaramola praised BIGIF for convening Ekiti and Ondo as partners rather than competitors, arguing that GBV knows no boundaries and that prevention efforts must transcend bureaucratic lines. He urged participants to leave with clear roles, firm commitments to cross-state collaboration and the courage to demand accountability.

National Human Rights Commission State Coordinator Oluwapomile Sodeinde outlined ongoing sensitisation, advocacy and case interventions, but called for stronger state investment in Ekiti’s Moremi Clinic Sexual Assault Referral Centre, including more personnel, specialist support and forensic test kits.

BIGIF Programmes Officer Ayomiposi Ogundipe said the Ondo-Ekiti dialogue had already produced an action plan and revealed critical gaps, including the absence of a Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Ondo State, which stakeholders pledged to address.

Our aim is to ensure that GBV response is not a location thing but a regional success, she said, adding that sustained cooperation among South-West states is essential to make existing laws and policies truly effective for survivors.