BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Six communities across Lagos State are set to benefit from an intensive child protection and abuse prevention campaign following a strategic alliance between AXA Mansard Insurance Plc and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA).
The joint initiative aims to deep-cleanse grassroots communities of ignorance surrounding child abuse by launching door-to-door sensitization campaigns. Driven by AXA Mansard employee volunteers and backed by the technical expertise, training, and guidance of the DSVA, the campaign is designed to improve public enlightenment, encourage the prompt reporting of abuse cases, and reinforce safety mechanisms for children at the local level.
This grassroots intervention marks the centerpiece of the 2026 AXA Week for Good, running under the theme, “Being A Child Shouldn’t Be A Risk.” It builds on a successful 2025 collaboration between the insurer and the agency, which previously focused on anti-violence education within school environments for teachers and students.
Speaking on the community-focused shift, the Chief Marketing Officer of AXA Mansard, Adebola Surakat, revealed that this year’s focus targets families, parents, caregivers, and community leaders directly. The strategic shift is informed by troubling data showing that a vast majority of child exploitation happens in familiar environments.
“Statistics show that most abuse cases occur within homes and among people familiar to children,” Surakat stated. “Over 60 per cent of domestic and sexual violence cases involving children are linked to people known to them, making community sensitisation critical in tackling the menace.”
Through the door-to-door engagements, residents in the selected communities will be educated on how to spot early warning signs of abuse, utilize official reporting channels, and adopt safe parenting practices.
Surakat emphasized that AXA Mansard views social advocacy as a corporate responsibility, noting that in 2025, 96 per cent of the company’s workforce dedicated part of their working hours to volunteering against domestic violence, contributing to a total pool of over 20,000 volunteer hours under their ‘AXA Hearts in Action’ initiative.
Welcoming the corporate support, the Executive Secretary of the DSVA, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, warned that domestic and sexual violence thrives heavily on silence, fear, and a lack of public awareness. She commended AXA Mansard for sustaining the alliance, noting that child protection requires a unified front across both public and private sectors.
“Taking advocacy directly into communities will empower parents and caregivers with the knowledge needed to identify warning signs, protect vulnerable children, and report abuse cases promptly,” Vivour-Adeniyi said.
