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Article History

Received: 2 November 2025

Accepted: 4 March 2026

First Online: 14 March 2026

Declarations

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: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) of the Federal Ministry of Health (NHREC/01/01/2007-08/08/2025). This shows the study’s commitment to national and international standards (Helsinki Declaration) for research involving human participants. Participants were purposively chosen based on their relevance to the study’s focus and their ability to provide valuable insights into adolescent and gender norm issues related to CEFM, GBV, WEE, SRH, and HPV vaccination. Prior to data collection, letters seeking consent to participate in the workshops were sent to the prospective participants and only those who provided feedback and indicated interest to participate were invited. During the workshop, oral and written informed consent was obtained from the participants prior to data collection. Participation was completely voluntary and went through a strong informed consent process. This ensured that individuals fully understood the study’s goals and how their contributions would be used, and only those who consented to the study were included. To address the risks of discussing sensitive topics, facilitators created a safe and supportive atmosphere. They made it clear that individual responses would remain anonymous unless permission was given. Consent forms and information sheets helped promote participant choice and build trust. Strict confidentiality rules were followed during data collection. While interactive tools like breakout sessions and dot-voting encouraged involvement, any identifying information was anonymized or used only with consent. Audio recordings and field notes were kept secure and accessible only to authorized research staff for analysis. Findings were reported in summary form to protect individual identities.These ethical measures, including data protection, voluntary participation, and confidentiality, complied with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and upheld the principles of beneficence, justice, and respect for individuals. This ensured that participants’ rights, safety, and dignity were fully protected throughout the research process.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.