A new plan to end sexual violence in Ogun State has been launched, but for many women with disabilities the real question is whether the system that failed them yesterday will suddenly work tomorrow.
Development Diaries reports that advocates and government officials recently gathered in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to launch the Technical Action and Sustainability Plan designed to end sexual violence against women with disabilities in the state.
On the surface, it was another policy launch, as cameras flashed, speeches were made, and everyone agreed that protecting women with disabilities is important.
But beneath the ceremony was something closer to a confession, and that is the current system meant to prevent and respond to sexual violence is not working for women with disabilities.
The organisation behind the plan, the Centre for Women Health and Information, did not mince words. According to the nonprofit, women with disabilities face higher risks of sexual violence because of discrimination, stigma, inaccessible services, and institutional gaps that make it harder for them to seek justice or even report abuse.
To fix this, the organisation developed the Technical Action and Sustainability Plan with support from the African Women Development Fund and in consultation with stakeholders. The document outlines roles, responsibilities, and performance indicators, with review points expected in three and six months.
All that sounds impressive. But let us be honest for a moment, plans do not protect people; systems do.
A survivor who walks into a police station does not need a beautifully printed policy document; she needs a police officer who can take her complaint seriously. A woman with hearing impairment does not need a policy speech; she needs someone who can communicate with her. A woman using a wheelchair does not need another conference; she needs a health facility she can actually enter.
That is where the real problem lies.
Nigeria’s gender-based violence response system already struggles to protect many survivors, but for women with disabilities, the barriers are even higher.
For many women with disabilities, the first step of reporting a crime can feel like climbing a mountain without a ladder, as some police stations have no sign language interpreters, while some officers lack training on how to take complaints from people with intellectual disabilities.
In other cases, survivors simply do not trust that the system will believe them.
Even when a report is made, the next stop is usually the hospital, but many health facilities are not equipped to communicate with or properly support women with disabilities.
Also, staff are often not trained in disability-sensitive care, with forensic procedures poorly handled, while communication barriers can make the process confusing or humiliating.
Then comes the justice system, as courtrooms can be intimidating places even for the most confident citizens. For women with disabilities, they can become outright hostile environments, with cases dragging on for years.
Protection services, which should provide refuge and support, are often no better, with shelters and hotlines rarely accommodating survivors who are deaf, blind, or mobility-impaired. In many places, these services simply assume everyone has the same abilities.
Global evidence explains why disability inclusion matters. According to the World Health Organisation, women with disabilities are two to four times more likely to experience intimate partner violence than women without disabilities. UN Women similarly reports that women with disabilities are at least two to three times more likely to experience violence.
In simple terms, when services are inaccessible, risk turns into impunity.
Another issue surfaced during the Abeokuta event that should make citizens pause. Advocates raised concerns that Ogun State still does not have a fully functional disability law to protect the rights of persons with disabilities.
In response, officials from the Ministry of Justice explained that a disability law had been passed and signed before the current administration but is now under review and may return to the House of Assembly for amendments before being sent again to the governor for assent.
If this explanation sounds confusing, it is because it is.
The House of Assembly actually passed a bill protecting persons with disabilities as far back as 2017. News reports at the time celebrated the move as a major step forward. Yet years later, advocates still complain that the law is either stalled, under review, or weakly implemented.
This is where governance in Nigeria often enters what citizens might call the ‘review tunnel’, as laws enter it with great fanfare and sometimes never come out again.
So the real problem in Ogun may not simply be the absence of a law but the absence of a functioning system to implement disability rights. Laws without budgets, institutions, and enforcement mechanisms behave like decorative furniture.
The irony is that Nigeria already has legal obligations on disability rights, with its ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which commits governments to ensure accessibility, equality, and protection from violence.
At the national level, the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination and requires accessibility in public spaces and services, and Ogun State itself has the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, which provides a framework for addressing gender-based violence.
In other words, Nigeria is not starting from zero, as the frameworks already exist. So, the real question is why women with disabilities still face barriers in a system that is supposed to protect them.
The Ministry of Justice must clarify the legal status of the disability law and ensure that prosecutors and courts are prepared to handle cases involving survivors with disabilities.
For its part, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development must strengthen referral pathways, shelters, and survivor services so that women with disabilities can access support without barriers.
As for the House of Assembly, it must ensure that disability rights laws are not only passed but also funded and enforced.
Security agencies such as the police and civil defence must ensure that survivors can report crimes without intimidation, discrimination, or pressure to settle cases privately.
The people of Ogun should expect the government to publish a clear timeline explaining the status of the disability law, what amendments are being proposed, and when the law will be fully operational.
The state should also establish accessible reporting pathways for gender-based violence cases, including sign language interpretation, disability-friendly complaint processes, and clear response timelines.
The publishing of quarterly data showing how many cases involving women with disabilities are reported, investigated, prosecuted, and resolved is an action the government must take, because without data, progress becomes impossible to verify.
But Ogun people do not need to wait quietly for government action. This is because they can petition the House of Assembly for clarity on the disability law, ask the Ministry of Women Affairs where a deaf survivor should go today to report abuse, and even visit local police stations and health facilities to see whether basic accessibility tools exist.
