SHARP

Project SHARP is targeted at university students and designed to raise awareness, foster prevention and counsel victims through advocacy programs.

It is estimated that one in every five female university students are raped, most of them in their first year. Out of a sample of 295 female students from Ebonyi state university Abakaliki in south east Nigeria, 36.7% had experienced sexual harassment/victimization at least once on campus. Of this, 32.4% had been raped. SHARP4U is a sexual harassment and rape prevention programe for university students that comes against the backdrop of a rape epidemic in Nigeria.

The objective of SHARP4U is to raise awareness, foster prevention counsel victim and work with relevant stakeholders to create safe spaces for reporting and deterrence. SHARP4U focuses on training first year female undergraduates on how to avoid rape , a measure that has proven effective in substantially lowering the risk of being sexually assaulted. The PBO Foundation works with the school authorities, student union groups to set up safe spaces for reporting and deterrence as well as a toll free counseling and reporting lines.