AXA Mansard has joined forces with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) to intensify efforts in raising awareness and preventing domestic and sexual violence against children through community-driven sensitisation campaigns across Lagos.
This initiative is part of the 2026 AXA Week for Good, themed “Being A Child Shouldn’t Be A Risk,” which aims to enhance public education, promote reporting of abuse cases, and bolster child protection measures at the grassroots level.
As part of the partnership, employee volunteers from AXA Mansard Insurance Plc will engage in door-to-door community outreach in collaboration with the Lagos State DSVA, which will offer technical support, training, and guidance throughout the campaign.
The company stated that the programme builds on the success of its 2025 collaboration with the agency, which focused on school-based interventions to educate children and teachers on domestic and sexual violence.
Chief Marketing Officer of AXA Mansard, Adebola Surakat, explained that this year’s campaign targets families, parents, caregivers, and community leaders, emphasising that statistics show most abuse cases occur within homes and among people familiar to children.
According to her, over 60 per cent of domestic and sexual violence cases involving children are linked to individuals known to them, making community awareness and mobilisation critical in tackling the issue.
She added that the initiative would cover six communities, where volunteers would educate residents on recognising abuse, reporting channels, and safe parenting practices.
Surakat highlighted that AXA Mansard has continued to invest in social advocacy against domestic and sexual violence because organisations have a responsibility to contribute to building safer societies where they operate.
She noted that in 2025, approximately 96 per cent of the company’s employees dedicated at least 30 minutes of their working hours to volunteer activities aimed at raising awareness on domestic and sexual violence.
Executive Secretary of DSVA, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, emphasised that domestic and sexual violence often persists in silence, ignorance, and fear, and stressed the importance of ongoing public education and community involvement.
Vivour-Adeniyi praised AXA Mansard for maintaining its partnership, highlighting that safeguarding children requires a collective effort involving government, the private sector, and members of the public.
She explained that taking advocacy directly into communities would empower parents and caregivers with the knowledge to identify warning signs, protect vulnerable children, and report abuse cases promptly.
AXA Week for Good is the flagship programme under AXA Mansard’s employee volunteering initiative, AXA Hearts in Action, which saw employees contribute over 20,000 volunteer hours in 2025.
