Every year on November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women reminds us not only of the global scale of gender-based violence but also of the countless individual stories of women navigating fear, silence, and survival. It is a day that asks us, governments, institutions, and everyday citizens, to look squarely at a reality that too often plays out behind closed doors.
This year, we turn the spotlight to an important and powerful development: the launch of the Guideline for the Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence in Imo State, created by HiiL in partnership with over a hundred local experts, practitioners, and justice actors.
Understanding Intimate Partner Violence: More Than a “Domestic Issue”
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) remains one of the most pervasive, and most misunderstood, forms of violence against women. It includes physical assault, emotional manipulation, psychological control, sexual violence, and economic deprivation. But underneath all these behaviours lies a deeper truth: IPV is about power. What makes IPV uniquely destructive is the closeness between victim and perpetrator. These are relationships woven with trust, dependency, and expectation, relationships where harm does not simply bruise the body but dismantles a person’s sense of safety and self-worth.
In Imo State, the challenge mirrors that of many regions across Nigeria. Studies consistently show that nearly one in four women will experience IPV in their lifetime. The consequences run deep: long-term mental health struggles, reproductive health complications, disrupted livelihoods, and a generational cycle of trauma that quietly shapes the future of entire communities.
Why IPV Persists: The Social Architecture Behind the Violence
IPV does not emerge from a single source. It is shaped by an interlocking web of societal norms, economic pressures, and cultural expectations. Empowering women through education and economic opportunity is critical, but research shows that this alone is not enough. When community norms still normalize violence or reinforce outdated gender expectations, abuse can remain hidden, denied, or dismissed. IPV prevention must therefore work at multiple levels: individual, family, community, and institutional. This is where HiiL’s approach tries to stand apart.
HiiL’s Guideline for Imo State: Built by the Community, for the Community
HiiL’s IPV Prevention Guideline is the product of an unusually collaborative and evidence-based process. Rather than relying solely on top-down legal frameworks, we reached into communities, identified what works, and combined those insights with global research to build a tool that is practical, culturally grounded, and actionable.
The guideline is built around 19 carefully evaluated recommendations for preventing IPV, aimed at local leaders, lawyers, mediators, paralegals, judges, and community-based practitioners. The process behind it was as rigorous as it was inclusive:
- A Committee of Experts (CoE)—including professors, lawyers, medical professionals, and justice workers—guided the development to ensure relevance and local ownership.
- Workshops with justice providers collected practice-based evidence from both formal courts and informal systems like customary mediation.
- A global literature review, guided by PICO questions and evaluated via the respected GRADE system, ensured that the recommendations were backed by proven interventions.
- Expert review and revision ensured practicality and alignment with Imo State’s social and legal realities.
The Five Pillars of Prevention
The guideline organizes its recommendations across five core areas that, together, address the structural drivers of IPV.
- Promoting Healthy Relationship Skills and Social Norms: This includes equipping couples and communities with the tools to build relationships grounded in mutual respect and equality. The emphasis is on breaking down harmful norms and teaching healthier, more equitable behaviours.
- Economic Empowerment and Education: Financial independence is one of the strongest shields against abuse. The guideline strongly recommends promoting economic literacy, personal development, and skills training, particularly for women who may remain in abusive situations due to a lack of alternatives.
- Community-Based Support Systems: Communities are essential lifelines. The guideline calls for trauma-informed support for children, expansion of safe spaces, and accessible legal services.
- Mental Health Services and Counselling: IPV creates psychological wounds. The guideline recommends CBT and other therapy modalities while emphasizing trauma-informed care that avoids retraumatizing survivors.
- Bystander Intervention: Communities cannot be passive. Through awareness campaigns and the adoption of the “5D” approach: Direct, Distract, Delegate, Delay, Document, individuals are encouraged to safely step in and support those at risk.
Community-led Wisdom
One of the most powerful aspects of the guideline is that it amplifies practices already working on the ground. Among these are pre-marriage counselling, community-led mediation, and active participation from religious leaders, who play a critical role in shaping community attitudes. We know that prevention requires collaboration, between individuals, families, communities, justice actors, and institutions. Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, this work stands as a reminder: change begins when communities choose to end the silence.
