Child rape: Can there be an end to this menace?

The spate of child sexual molestation in Nigeria is worrisome. Although child sexual abuse is an offence under several sections of chapter 21 of the country’s criminal code, this continues to suffer a considerable neglect.

According to a 2015 UNICEF report, one in four girls and one in ten boys in Nigeria had experienced sexual violence before the age of 18.  A survey by Positive Action for Treatment Access puts the number of girls that their first sexual encounter had been rape or forced sex of some kind at over 31.4 percent.

Findings from a 2012 survey conducted by The Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development conducted in Rivers State shows that 1,200 girls had been raped.

On September 4, 2016, Monday Ekpade, a 59-year old HIV positive man, raped a six year old girl in Delta state. In November 2016, Adegboyega Adenekan, a 47-year old Supervisor with Chrisland International School, Lagos, was accused of defiling a girl of two years and 11 months, under the guise of teaching sex education. The list of cases of child abuse in the last three years is alarming.

According to a 2014 survey by the National Population Commission, UNICEF and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, six out of 10 Nigerian children experience some form of physical, emotional and sexual violence before they reach the age of 18.

Research has shown that sexually abused children perform less than their classmates, feel distracted and withdrawn from other students, teachers and then from their studies.

Another survey conducted by the Child Protection Hub (CPHub) shows that only 27 percent of all respondents who admitted to have witnessed child abuse confirmed to having reported the case to the authorities, mostly the police.

Sadly, there seems to be no reprieve in sight for the victims as children’s right advocates complain of weak child protection structures in Nigeria.

A study on sexual assault cases at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) between 2008 and 2012 revealed that out of a total 287 reported cases of sexual assault, 83 per cent of the victims were below the age of 19. According to a study by Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), 70 per cent of sexual assault victims were under the age of 18.

Findings from a 2014 National Survey on Violence Against Children in Nigeria show that one in four females reported experiencing sexual violence in childhood, with about 70 percent reporting more than one incident of sexual violence. The same study revealed that 24.8 percent of females aged 18 to 24 years experienced sexual abuse prior to age 18, of which 5 percent sought help, with only 3.5 percent receiving any services.

Nigeria is among the 194 countries of the United Nations that signed the Convention to the Rights and Welfare of the Child, but not much has been done by parents and guardians, school authorities and the government to protect children from sexual abuse.

Children have the right to survival, the right to develop to the fullest; right to protection from harmful influences and abuse and exploitation and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

In the face of all this, there is the need for parents and guardians to teach their wards sex education at an early stage in life and vet schools before they enrol their children. There is also an urgent need to adopt a stricter penalty against paedophiles this would serve as a deterrent to others and help stem the rising cases of sexual molestation in the country.