Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is one of the most pervasive human rights violations globally. From child marriage and sexual exploitation to domestic abuse and digital harassment, Environmental exploitation, land rights, to violence takes many forms, rooted in power, patriarchy, and persistent gender inequality.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a brutal and enduring violation of human rights, affecting one in three women globally. It manifests in deeply entrenched social, cultural, and economic systems that are shaped by patriarchy, power imbalances, and persistent gender inequality. VAWG includes a spectrum of abuse—physical, sexual, psychological, economic, and structural—that spans from domestic violence and marital rape to child marriage, trafficking, sexual exploitation, femicide, and digital abuse. This violence is not limited to acts of aggression but is woven into everyday institutions, social norms, and policies that enable the subjugation and silencing of women and girls. In Africa, where colonial legacies have interlaced with traditional patriarchal systems, the issue is intensified by political instability, poverty, conflict, and climate crises, all of which disproportionately affect women and girls.

In urban African settings, VAWG presents itself in both overt and insidious forms. While cities may offer relative access to justice systems, healthcare, and education, many women and girls in informal settlements or low-income areas still face systemic barriers to protection. Sexual harassment in public transport, coercive labor conditions, intimate partner violence, and rising forms of online harassment trap women in cycles of fear and silence. The urban promise of anonymity and opportunity often clashes with deeply gendered expectations and economic dependency. Furthermore, digital spaces—once seen as platforms for empowerment—have increasingly become sites of cyber violence, blackmail, and image-based abuse targeting women activists, journalists, and even adolescent girls. Urban systems often fail to respond sensitively or rapidly to these abuses, leaving survivors to navigate stigma and blame alone.

In rural areas across the African continent, VAWG is often normalized under the guise of tradition, cultural obligation, or economic necessity. Harmful practices like female genital mutilation, child marriage, and widow inheritance continue to harm generations of girls and women, often with minimal legal recourse or community support. Women's economic dependency on land and agriculture, coupled with discriminatory land tenure systems, fuels gender-based land dispossession, forced evictions, and violence when women assert their rights. Environmental degradation and climate-induced displacement have further exposed rural women and girls to exploitation and abuse, particularly during resource collection and migration. Limited access to justice, healthcare, and education in rural settings compounds their vulnerability, while patriarchal power structures in local leadership continue to silence their voices.

We believe knowledge is power. This platform is a space to learn, share, and act. It connects survivors, advocates, and communities with information, tools, and each other. The fight to end VAWG is a collective revolution.