The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking Persons (NAPTIP) has called for digital safety education in schools and communities to protect women and girls from online abuse and harassment.
The Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu-Bello, made the appeal on Friday in Abuja during a road walk marking the 2025 16-day activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV). She highlighted the urgent need for awareness and preventive measures across society.
Adamu-Bello stressed that capacity building for law enforcement, stronger legislation, safe reporting channels, survivor protection, and secure technology platforms are essential to ensure digital safety for women and girls nationwide.
She noted that NAPTIP is actively raising awareness on cyber safety, supporting survivors with psychosocial care, investigating offenders, prosecuting perpetrators, and collaborating with technology companies to create safer online spaces.
The D-G explained that NAPTIP works with NGOs, schools, development partners, and security agencies to develop guidelines for safer digital environments, emphasizing that the agency cannot tackle the issue alone.
“Technology is a powerful tool for learning, business, leadership, and connection, but for many women and girls, it has become a space of fear,” Adamu-Bello said.
She outlined forms of digital violence, including cyber stalking, online harassment, non-consensual image sharing, deepfake abuse, hate speech, and blackmail, noting that such acts silence voices, harm mental health, and drive women away from digital engagement.
According to the D-G, women are 27 per cent more likely than men to face online harassment, with young girls, activists, journalists, and public figures being the primary targets.
Adamu-Bello said survivors often struggle with anxiety, isolation, withdrawal from education or work, and loss of self-confidence, warning that society loses leadership, innovation, and economic potential when women retreat from digital spaces.
“We must ensure that the digital space is not a battlefield, but a place of opportunity,” she stressed, urging stronger legal protections and enforcement to prevent online abuse.
The D-G called for strengthening the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015, the Cybercrimes Act 2015, and the Child Rights Act 2003, alongside equipping law enforcement to handle digital evidence and respond promptly.
The 2025 16-day activism against GBV is themed “Unite to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls”. Development partners in the campaign include Auxano Foundation, Network Against Corruption and Trafficking, UN Women, and CWEENS FCT.
