“In this country, creating wahala is how you get people to do their work,” said one case worker, using a Nigerian colloquialism that translates to worries or problems. “Power is creating wahala for powerful people.”
The Dorothy Njemanze Foundation (@dorothynjemanzefoundation on Instagram) is a Nigerian survivor-run non-profit organization that provides 24-7 support to other survivors of sexual violence. Dorothy Njemanze and her colleagues respond to calls for help for people seeking safety, care, and justice after an experience of sexual and gender-based violence. They help survivors access medical and legal services as well as find safe temporary shelter.
DNF staff members (from left to right) Prive Diri, Amaka, Dorothy, and Nenette Ebi.In the aftermath of #MeToo, most countries, including Nigeria, registered upticks in sexual violence reporting alongside declining rates of prosecutions for these crimes vis-à-vis other violent crimes. Prosecutions may not be an ideal measure of gender justice, but these figures do suggest a widening gap between survivors’ expectations and measurable outcomes of safety and justice. In this gap, Dorothy Njemanze and her colleagues are working around the clock to respond to calls for help, connect survivors with safe housing, medical support, and legal aid, and change narratives about the acceptability of gendered violence in the country as a whole.
DNF shelter administrators and survivors (mothers and their children) stand in a circle with their feet together at one of the organization's shelters in Nigeria.
DNF staff members in the organization's only office - at the time, located in Abuja, Nigeria.
The administrators of the DNF shelter take a break from managing daily life for its residents.
One of the main safety and justice barriers for survivors of domestic violence is the lack of safe housing – DNF runs a small shelter that houses women and their families as they recover from violence. The shelter was opened during the dramatic increase in serious domestic violence during COVID-19 lockdowns, with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).
A young woman, a survivor of sexual violence with her daughter at the DNF shelter.