Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi: The Merchant of Hope Driving Lagos’ Fight Against Domestic, Sexual Violence
For about 15 years, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, popularly known as “The Merchant of Hope,” has built a career in public service around policy, law, social welfare and social protection, with much of her work focused on protecting vulnerable people. As the pioneer Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), she leads a team of more than 100 professionals driving Lagos’ coordinated response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). Her work combines survivor support, advocacy, prevention and public education, including through books she has authored on domestic violence, sexual violence, self-love and body safety. As Lagos joins the rest of the world in observing September as Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month, her leadership at the DSVA is again bringing the need for greater awareness, prevention and collective action against abuse to the forefront. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports
As Lagos marks the 2026 Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month this September, the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, has been increasingly centred on a bigger objective- ensuring that domestic and sexual violence in Lagos is no longer simply about receiving complaints, rescuing survivors or pursuing perpetrators, but about building a system strong enough to prevent violence, identify warning signs early, protect survivors, support their recovery and ensure that those responsible face justice.
Five years into the agency’s existence, while the scale of the work is perhaps still daunting, she is not about to quit or let things get half done.
A lawyer and public administrator, she has more than 15 years of public service experience, spanning public policy, administration, legal services and social services and before the agency was created, she served as coordinator of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT).
Building a Statewide Response
That approach has become increasingly visible in the work of the Lagos State DSVA, which Vivour-Adeniyi has headed since its creation in 2021 after the Lagos State government established the agency in 2021, following Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s assent to the law establishing it in September of that year.
Her work has focused on developing a coordinated institutional response to sexual and gender-based violence — from survivor support and referrals to access to justice, public sensitisation, child protection and economic empowerment.
It has also involved training justice-sector and health professionals, collaboration with the police and other first responders, and prevention programmes.
Under her leadership, the DSVA has increasingly moved beyond the traditional model of receiving complaints and referring survivors elsewhere. The agency has worked with government institutions, schools, healthcare providers, police, courts, community leaders, religious organisations and civil society groups.
Grassroots sensitisation has become an important part of that strategy, with the agency taking information about domestic and sexual violence into local communities rather than limiting campaigns to government offices.
Vivour-Adeniyi has also consistently linked economic empowerment with the ability of survivors to leave abusive relationships.
Consequently, the DSVA has partnered organisations to provide skills acquisition and economic support to survivors.
The Numbers Behind the Motivation
What motivates her to keep going despite the daunting work, you might ask? Between September 2021 and July 2026, the DSVA received 33,009 cases of domestic and sexual violence through physical walk-ins and its Virtual Referral and Response Service (VRRS), an average of more than 300 clients monthly.
The figures form the backdrop to the 2026 Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month, which began in September under the theme “SGBV – It Ends With Us.”
For Vivour-Adeniyi, however, the numbers are not merely statistics. They represent people, families, children and communities requiring intervention.
The five-year statistics reveal both the workload placed on the agency and the different forms of violence it has had to confront. Of the 33,009 cases, domestic violence accounted for 13,515, making it by far the largest category.
The agency also recorded 1,171 cases of defilement, 797 cases of child abuse and physical assault, 420 rape cases, 428 cases of sexual harassment and 100 cases of sexual assault by penetration.
Other reports included 95 cases of technology-facilitated sexual and gender-based violence, 323 threats to life, 79 attempted rape cases and 1,861 family-related disputes involving issues such as custody, neglect, abduction and child labour.
Particularly disturbing was the identification of 10,613 children who suffered emotional abuse as a result of exposure to domestic violence in their homes. The annual breakdown further shows the scale of the problem: 1,075 cases were recorded between September and December 2021; 5,929 in 2022; 6,389 in 2023; 7,882 in 2024; 7,721 in 2025; and 4,013 cases as of July 2026.
From Rescue to Recovery
The achievements of the DSVA under Vivour-Adeniyi are perhaps most visible in what happens after a survivor reports.
During the period under review, 175 survivors received free legal support, while 40 survivors requiring immediate protection were accommodated at Eko Haven and other safe shelters.
The agency’s Clinical Psychology Department provided psychotherapy and counselling to 953 survivors, 267 perpetrators and 304 children.
It also conducted 501 rescue operations, providing immediate protection to people found in dangerous environments. The agency extended services to 46 persons with disabilities experiencing gender-based violence.
On the justice side, 20 restraining orders were obtained under the Lagos State Protection Against Domestic Violence Law 2015.
The DSVA also financially supported the investigation and prosecution of 464 SGBV-related cases, while more than 711 cases were charged to court. Within the same period, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in the Ministry of Justice secured more than 160 convictions.
Prevention Takes Centre Stage
The most significant evolution in Vivour-Adeniyi’s work may, however, be the increasing emphasis on prevention.
Statewide sensitisation campaigns reached an estimated 1,964,559 residents across Lagos’ 20 Local Government Areas — an average of roughly 98,228 residents per Local Government Area based on the state’s figures.
The interventions have included school outreach, community and market engagements, the Kings & Queens Club, Purple Lagos Campus Activation, traditional ruler engagements and community dialogues.
The agency has also expanded access through sub-offices in Kosofe and Ikorodu.
Other access mechanisms include the Lagos State Religious Premarital Counselling Online Course, the reintroduction of the *6820# USSD short code and the ASK INU WhatsApp Chat Bot.
More than 60,000 educators, parents and caregivers have also been trained through the Lagos State Safeguarding and Child Protection Online Course.
The DSVA has further identified marriage and relationship education as an important prevention tool. More than 466 religious marriage counsellors have completed the Lagos State Religious Premarital Counselling Online Course.
Protecting Children and Changing Behaviour
Child protection remains another major pillar of her work. Through initiatives such as the Kings Club and Queens Club, the agency engages boys and girls on sexual and gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, resilience, anger management and related issues.
Vivour-Adeniyi has stressed the need to engage boys proactively in preventing violence while recognising that boys themselves can also become victims.
The DSVA has also collaborated with the Lagos Ministry of Education on sensitisation programmes for children and parents.
A Survivor-centred Approach to Justice
Vivour-Adeniyi’s professional philosophy is also evident in her advocacy for survivor-focused justice. In 2024, she presented a paper titled “Beyond Enacting Legislation: Survivor-Focused Justice Service Delivery” at the 10th Network Conference of Sexual Assault Referral Centres. The emphasis captures an important part of her approach: justice should not end with prosecution.
A survivor may require medical care, psychosocial support, legal assistance, protection, shelter and help navigating the justice system.
The DSVA has consequently worked with judges, magistrates and legal practitioners to improve the handling of SGBV cases.
That survivor-centred approach also informs the agency’s collaboration with the health sector.
As part of current efforts, the DSVA has worked with the Lagos Ministry of Health and the Primary Health Care Board to train healthcare professionals on responding to survivors of SGBV and preserving evidence. The first training involved 50 medical social workers from health facilities across the state.
September and the Fight to End SGBV
September therefore provides an important opportunity to assess the work of Vivour-Adeniyi and the agency she leads. The 2026 Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month is being used to push the conversation beyond awareness towards prevention and collective responsibility.
The campaign began with Turn Lagos Purple on September 1 along Ikorodu Road and in Lekki Phase 1, followed by Turn Alausa Purple on September 2, when public servants wore purple ribbons as symbols of solidarity against domestic and sexual violence.
Other activities include training for medical social workers on SGBV prevention and response, training for police officers in newly upgraded Family Support Units, disability-inclusive case management training and training for newly recruited health workers.
There is also Caring for the Carers, a mental wellness programme for frontline staff, an Advocacy Walk Against SGBV in Lagos Island and Survivors’ Day on September 15.
The private sector is being engaged on workplace sexual harassment prevention, while a Market Fiesta is scheduled for Ile-Epo Market.
For children and young people, the Safeguarding and Child Protection Week, scheduled for September 21 to 25, is expected to reach more than 1,200 students across Lagos’ six Education Districts.
The state will also host the National Convening of Gender-Based Violence State Coordinators on September 24 and 25, bringing together GBV coordinators from across the country.
Another major milestone will be the launch of the Lagos State GBV Prevention Policy.
The month-long programme is scheduled to end on September 29 with the Governor’s Commendation and Awards Night, recognising individuals, institutions and partners considered to have demonstrated exceptional commitment to preventing and responding to domestic and sexual violence.
For Vivour-Adeniyi, the purple campaign must represent more than symbolism.
“We want the purple in Alausa to be more than a colour,” she said, stressing that residents must recognise that domestic and sexual violence affects people around them and that everyone has a role in prevention. That philosophy lies at the heart of her work.
As she continues to champion the fight against domestic and sexual violence in Lagos, the “Merchant of Hope” is bent on shaping an institution while simultaneously confronting one of Lagos’ most difficult social problems and ensuring that those stories do not end with trauma, but with protection, recovery, justice and, ultimately, prevention.
