Growing up in a rural community and as a first-generation university student, Oluwadamilola's story is about resilience, courage and determination.
Growing up in a rural community and as a first-generation university student, Oluwadamilola's story is about resilience, courage and determination.
After being assaulted on campus, she faced victim blaming, as is predominant in Nigeria, where victims of abuse are often made to apologise to their abuser. The trauma surrounding this experience inspired her into founding Forbidden Topics.
Oluwadamilola is determined to break the silence against campus-based sexual and gender-based violence and change the narrative around the term “victim” to one of solidarity and change.
Forbidden Topics works to destigmatise and demystify subjects deemed taboo in her society, and advocate for change across 30 countries. When she was an undergraduate, Oluwadamilola set in motion a petition to review the rules and punishments for sexual offences on her university campus, which helped to protect over 25,000 students from sexual violence. Since then, Forbidden Topics have empowered students with knowledge against digital and technology facilitated violence.
She is creating safe spaces for adolescent girls and young women to share their experiences with gender-based violence without fear or shame and empowering them to use their voices to demand better.
Through Forbidden Topics, Oluwadamilola also launched a sister programme, ‘She-Village’ where so far, she has mentored 50 female university students in professional development, providing them with advocacy tools to fight against gender inequality.
Despite numerous setbacks, Oluwadamilola embodies the spirit of the I Princess Diana, a young leader committed to impacting lives everywhere she goes.
