The Women at Risk International Foundation launched the No Tolerance Campaign last year to address the prevalence of violence against girls and women in communities across Nigeria. Nigeria responded and our citizens across the country stood with WARIF to say “No Tolerance” to rape and sexual violence and the digital campaign reached an estimate of 10 million people on social media.
Following the on-going success of the campaign and the dire need for more awareness on issues of sexual violence, over the annual 16 Days of Activism to highlight gender based violence globally, the maiden edition of the No Tolerance March was carried out in December 2019.
This year, following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2ND annual #WARIFNoTolerance March held on Saturday December 05, went online and was followed by all! Participants, friends, survivors and supporters of WARIF were encouraged to come out alone or with their friends and family bubble; wearing their No Tolerance T-shirts and to march, jog, walk or run anywhere of their choice- at home, on the bridge or in the streets to raise awareness to sexual violence and to stay connected with pictures and videos posted. Notable advocates and celebrities like Kate Henshaw, WARIF Ambassadors Temi Otedola and Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), Rita Dominic, Chioma Akpotha, Chigul ; Denola Grey. Fashion designers Folake Coker, Lisa Folawiyo, Tola Adegbite and Adebayo Oke-Lawal were also among those who joined the organization to take a stand against rape and sexual violence this year.
Read also: WARIF wins grant to end gender-based violence in tertiary institutions
Speaking on the importance of the online march, Founder of WARIF, Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru stated that “ With the COVID-19 outbreak, a shadow pandemic has become apparent with a spike in the rate of sexual and domestic violence cases as more and more survivors are forced to quarantine with their abusers. This has put a spotlight on the prevalence of gender based violence across the world including Nigeria and the urgent need for free essential services, provided by organizations like WARIF, to be made available to all survivors.”
