LEGAL RESPONSES TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NIGERIA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

Abstract

Gender-based violence (GBV) is simultaneously a criminal justice issue, a public health crisis, and a profound human rights violation. This paper offers a comparative analysis of Nigeria and the United Kingdom (focusing on England and Wales), examining how law constructs, prevents, prosecutes, and remedies GBV. It integrates doctrinal analysis of statutes and appellate case law with feminist legal theory and human rights jurisprudence and situates legal frameworks within statistical evidence on prevalence and justice outcomes. The central argument is that ‘law on the books’ does not automatically translate into safety or equality: effective GBV regulation depends on state capacity, institutional design, evidential practices, survivor-centred procedure, and accountability mechanisms that align with due diligence obligations under international law. Nigeria’s VAPP Act offers an ambitious framework but is constrained by federalism-driven uneven domestication, resource shortages, and inconsistent judicial and police practice. The UK has a more consolidated architecture—consent-based sexual offences law, the coercive control offence, and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021—supported by comparatively robust data systems and oversight; yet it still faces attrition, contested evidential cultures, and systemic barriers for marginalized survivors. The conclusion proposes reforms aimed at harmonized legal coverage, evidence-led and trauma-informed practice, stronger protection-order enforcement, consistent sentencing rationales, and transparent data for both jurisdictions.