Political parties, the electoral commission, security agencies, media organisations and women’s groups in Osun State have adopted a binding code of conduct against gendered attacks on women in politics.
The Joint Code of Conduct Against Gendered Electoral Attacks was signed on Monday at a stakeholders’ dialogue, Safe to Run, Safe to Vote, held in Osogbo and convened by Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI), with support from Urgent Action Fund – Africa.
Signatories said women involved in Osun politics had faced various forms of abuse during the campaign, including physical assaults, the circulation of intimate images without consent and the use of artificial intelligence to create fabricated sexual videos and audio.
They said sustained online abuse had also forced some women out of public life.
Under the code, which takes effect immediately, signatories committed not to produce, fund, share, broadcast or amplify image-based sexual abuse, AI-generated sexual imagery, gendered disinformation, the publication of women’s private details, or threats against women or their families.
They also agreed not to blame women for attacks against them and to publicly condemn such acts regardless of the political party of the woman targeted.
The declaration described the attacks as electoral harms with a wider public cost, arguing that every woman forced out of Osun’s political space reduces the choices available to voters.
Speaking at the dialogue, BBYDI’s Communications Associate, Fatima Binat Abubakar, said attacks against women should be treated as a threat to the credibility of the election.
“An election that allows women to be forced out through violence, whether by a fist or a fabricated image, cannot claim to reflect the will of its people,” she said. “This code says plainly that attacking a woman for taking part in politics is not a campaign tactic. It is an attack on the election, and everyone who signed has agreed to treat it that way.”
The agreement assigns responsibilities to participating institutions. The electoral commission’s Osun office undertook to record gendered attacks as matters within its electoral integrity mandate and include gender-safety messaging in voter education.
Security agencies agreed to treat image-based sexual abuse, threats and the exposure of women’s private details as reportable offences and protect the identities of women who report such incidents.
Broadcasters committed to verify material concerning women’s private lives before airing it and to issue corrections with the same prominence when inaccurate material is broadcast.
Civil society and legal organisations agreed to provide free legal, digital-safety and psychosocial support to women targeted by such attacks, regardless of their political affiliation.
The commitments will remain in effect through polling day, the announcement and acceptance of results, and any subsequent petitions. Some provisions will also continue between elections.
BBYDI said the code is intended as a working model for other elections and forms part of its wider efforts on gender-based violence prevention, online safety and civic participation.