The initiative forms part of the 2026 AXA Week for Good campaign themed “Being A Child Shouldn’t Be A Risk,” a programme focused on increasing awareness, encouraging the reporting of abuse cases and promoting stronger child protection systems at the community level.
Under the partnership, employee volunteers from AXA Mansard Insurance Plc will participate in door-to-door awareness drives alongside officials of the Lagos State DSVA. The agency is expected to provide technical support, advocacy training and guidance throughout the campaign.
According to the company, the project builds on the success of its 2025 collaboration with the agency, which concentrated mainly on school-based interventions designed to educate pupils and teachers on issues relating to domestic and sexual violence.
Chief Marketing Officer of AXA Mansard, Adebola Surakat, explained that this year’s approach is shifting attention toward families, parents, caregivers and community leaders because statistics indicate that most abuse cases involving children occur within familiar environments.
She noted that more than 60 per cent of domestic and sexual violence incidents affecting children are linked to people known to them, making awareness within homes and neighbourhoods especially important.
Surakat said the campaign would extend to six communities across Lagos, where volunteers would educate residents on recognising warning signs of abuse, understanding reporting channels and adopting safer parenting practices.
She further stressed that AXA Mansard remains committed to social advocacy because businesses have a broader responsibility to contribute positively to the safety and wellbeing of the communities where they operate.
According to her, nearly 96 per cent of the company’s workforce dedicated at least 30 minutes of official work hours to volunteer activities in 2025 focused on raising awareness against domestic and sexual violence.
Executive Secretary of the DSVA, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said domestic and sexual violence often thrives in silence, fear and lack of information, highlighting the importance of continuous public education.
She commended AXA Mansard for sustaining its collaboration with the agency, adding that protecting children requires collective responsibility involving government institutions, private organisations and members of the public.
Vivour-Adeniyi explained that taking advocacy directly into communities would help empower parents and caregivers with practical knowledge to identify abuse early, support vulnerable children and report cases promptly.
The campaign is being implemented under AXA Mansard’s employee volunteer platform, AXA Hearts in Action, through which workers reportedly contributed more than 20,000 volunteer hours in 2025.