Unlearning Silence, Relearning Protection

Violence against women and girls isn’t just a private matter—it’s a cultural wound. One that festers in silence, in complicity, in the casual acceptance of harmful norms passed down like family heirlooms. But what if communities could unlearn that silence? What if the men entrusted with tradition chose, instead, to protect?

At HerRise Foundation, we believe they can. And we saw it firsthand in Oriuzor Autonomous Community, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

With support from the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, we gathered not just to speak, but to stir something deeper—to ignite the conversations that challenge old beliefs and awaken new responsibilities. We brought together community leaders and men to talk about violence against women and girls not as a women’s issue, but as a communal betrayal that demands communal healing.

It wasn’t easy. These are conversations steeped in generations of silence. But slowly, we saw change flicker in the room—in the way questions were asked, in the way listening deepened, in the way heads began to nod in recognition that this, too, is their fight.

Because change doesn’t begin in policies or hashtags. It begins when a father decides his daughter’s safety matters. When a chief invites women into his council. When a boy grows up seeing a man say, “Not in my house. Not in my community.”

We are not just raising awareness. We are unlearning silence. We are relearning what it means to protect.

And in Oriuzor, something ancient shifted—where once there was silence, now there is a village learning to stand.