WARDC founder Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi selected for UN Spotlight Initiative Global Reference Group

Founder Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, has been nominated for the UN Spotlight Initiative Global Reference Group between 2024-2026.

Dr Akiyode-Afolabi, a Senior Lecturer at Faculty of Law and Director, Centre for Human Rights, University of Lagos, was nominated after a rigorous evaluation of 140 applications.

She will join 16 other nominees who are global leaders across continents to protect women and girls against all forms of violence.

Dr. Akiyode-Afolabi is a staunch gender rights activist who has led hundreds of projects from grassroots to national and international levels.

The Spotlight Initiative is a United Nations high impact initiative, targeted at ending violence against women and girls. This initiative responds to all forms of violence against women and girls, with a particular focus on domestic and family violence, sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices, femicide, trafficking in human beings as well as sexual and economic (labour) exploitation.