AXA Mansard Insurance Plc has partnered with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency to deepen public awareness and prevention of domestic and sexual violence against children across local communities in the state. The initiative forms the core pillar of the 2026 AXA Week for Good, a corporate social responsibility drive held under the global theme, ‘Being A Child Shouldn’t Be A Risk’.

Under the collaborative framework, employee volunteers from the insurance firm will embark on extensive door-to-door community engagements alongside technical experts from the state agency. The joint grassroots deployment aims to build on school-based interventions executed in the previous year, shifting the focus to a wider public enlightenment drive to encourage the reporting of abuse cases and strengthen safety mechanisms at the grassroots.

Speaking on the operational layout of the initiative, the Chief Marketing Officer of AXA Mansard, Adebola Surakat, noted that targeting the home ecosystem remains the most critical factor in mitigating risks to vulnerable minors.

“This year’s campaign is deliberately targeted at families, parents, caregivers and community leaders because data shows that the threat is closest to home,” Surakat said.

She further revealed that corporate advocacy must adapt to prevailing domestic metrics to achieve a measurable reduction in local vulnerability statistics.

“Over 60 per cent of domestic and sexual violence cases involving children are linked to people known to them, making direct community sensitisation critical in dismantling this menace,” she added.

Surakat specified that the advocacy drive will initially blanket six key local communities, where employee volunteers will focus on educating residents on how to identify warning signs, access official reporting channels and implement safe parenting practices.

Endorsing the private sector intervention, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, emphasised that institutional silence remains the greatest enabler of domestic crimes against minors.

“Domestic and sexual violence thrives in silence, ignorance and fear, which is why continuous public education and aggressive community engagement are non-negotiable,” Vivour-Adeniyi stated.

She maintained that safeguarding the next generation requires a unified front that crosses the boundary between government administration and corporate participation.

“Safeguarding children requires collective action involving government, the private sector and members of the public. Taking advocacy directly into communities empowers caregivers with the baseline knowledge needed to protect vulnerable children and report abuse cases promptly,” she said.

The community outreach initiative is powered by “AXA Hearts in Action”, the flagship vehicle for the insurer’s employee volunteering scheme. Institutional tracking data from the company indicates high workforce alignment with social advocacy, with employees contributing over 20,000 volunteer hours in the preceding fiscal period.