Save the girl child final presentation

2. Stopping the
Scourge of Child
Sexual Abuse in
Nigeria
Meka Olowola
Managing Partner , Zenera Consulting
Disclaimer: The following presentation contains
graphic images, thus viewer may choose to focus
solely on the speaker 2

3. Children are the
reward of life
-African Proverb

4. Sexual Abuse Defined...
Child sexual abuse is involvement of a child in
sexual activity that he or she does not fully
comprehend and is unable to give informed
consent to.
It involves lack of consent, the use of coercion,
deception or threat; and/or the involvement of a
victim that is mentally incapacitated or physically
impaired( due to voluntary or involuntary drug
consumption) asleep or unconscious.

5. Violence births violence
Like many other forms of abuses, the
bruises of sexual abuse remain with the
victim for life.
The devastating effects of child abuse on
the child is limitless: fear, pregnancy guilt
and shame, flashbacks, retraction,
depression, lunacy, sexually transmitted
diseases and suicides.
Could it be that we unknowingly train
future child abusers by raising our children
in an environment where violence(minor
or major) against women is prevalent?
“Train up a child in the way he
should grow, when he is old, he
will not depart from it”

6. Effect of child sexual abuse
DepressionFearChild pregnancy

7. Ultimate effect of our ignorance!
SUICIDE

8. Available statistics in Sub-Saharan
Africa and Nigeria in particular are
limited. Nigerian researchers have not
given adequate attention to this
subject despite its attendant, social,
physical and psychological
consequences.
Many Nigerian parents choose to deny
or voice out the occurrence of child
sexual abuse for fear of been
stigmatized!.
TheNigerianSituation

9. Our Reaction...
❑ It cannot happen to my child, God forbid!
❑ This kind of thing does not happen where I live.
❑ This cannot be true, you are lying.
❑ My child is not old enough for this discussion
❑ I don't want to scare my child
❑ I would know if something like this is happening
❑ My child will tell me if something happened to
her.

10. Why our
kids are
quiet?

11. What our kids are not telling us
❑ I have told someone and no one helped me!
❑ Daddy will beat me like he beats mummy
❑ I told my parents that uncle hurt me and they didn’t believe me
❑ My mum said that I should not tell anyone because they will take
my daddy away and I will be blamed!
❑ I'm a bad child that's why it happened to me.
❑ He said I will kill you and kill your mummy
❑ Tomi told her mummy and her dad sent them out of the house- I’m
afraid daddy will do the same to us
❑ If I speak out everybody will laugh at me
❑ They will not believe me

13. UNICEF reported in 2015
that one in four girls and
one in ten boys in
Nigeria had experienced
sexual violence before
the age of 18

15. 90% of child sexual abuse victims know their abuser!
Many perpetrators of sexual
abuse are in a position of trust
or responsible for the child's
care such as a parent, a family
member, teacher, clergy
member, the security guard,
the Sports instructor, the
House help etc.…

16. Rachel Harvey, the chief of child protection for UNICEF
in Nigeria, says the abuse is rarely done only once.
“For around about 80 percent of children this would
happen again, and again, and again. And also children
suffer more than one type of violence as well,” she
said.
source: UNICEF Report 2015

17. The Centre for
Environment,
Human Rights and
Development
reported that 1,200
girls had been
raped in 2012
in Rivers State
alone!

18. According to a survey by Positive Action for Treatment Access, over
31.4% of girls there said that their first sexual encounter had been
rape or forced sex of some kind

19. Let’s bring it home!

20. When Oluwakemi Abayomi, a 9 year -
old pupil of one of the private
schools located
somewhere in Agege area of Lagos
State was taken to school by her mother,
little did she and the mother
know that she will not live to see the
next day
www.mynewswachtimtesng.com
Another bizarre report in October 30,
2013, was when a 14-year-old boy
raped a nine-year-old-girl to death.
The police in Lagos State have
commenced investigation into the case
www.mynewswatchtimesng.com
A 7-year old girl who was a victim of sexual
abuse has narrated to the police how she
was serially raped by three men for six
months in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.
www.pmnewsnigeria.com
A 10-year old girl who was a victim of
sexual abuse has made a shocking
confession, saying that she cannot do
without having sex with men daily..
www.pmnewsnigeria.com
It was a double tragedy for an 8-year old girl who
was sexually abused by their neighbour and the
victim’s father ended up battering his daughter
with a plank which he wanted to use to hit the
suspected rapist
www.pmnewsnigeria.com
A 47-year-old man was arrested in
Lagos State in March 2013 for
serially raping of his seven-year-old
daughter and his one month old
grand daughter.
www.vanguardngr.com

21. What Can We
Do

22. Preventive measures
❑ A primary prevention approach prevents abuse
before it happens by addressing the
environmental factors and societal norms that
contribute to its occurrence in the first place
❑ Specifically, an environment where
aggression and violence against women is
tolerated and accepted as normal behavior
breeds child sexual abuse.
❑ End physical abuse against women in our
homes. In a Nigerian survey, 81% of married
women report being verbally or physically
abused by their husbands. 46% being abused
in the presence of their children.

23. More Preventive Measures
● Policy change is often the tipping point for norms
change. Policies shape the overall environment for
everyone in a community.
• Never too young to lecture your kids on Sexual Abuse
• Minimize the opportunity for such act to happen-More than
80% of Child Sexual Abuse occurs when children are in
isolated situations with one-one adults
• Initiate the Underwear Rule with your kids-PANTS
1. Privates are privates
2. Always remember your body belongs to you
3. No means no
4. Talk about secrets that upset you
5. Speak up, someone can help

24. After the Abuse….
•It starts with a simple “I believe you
and it is not your fault”
•Never, never express disbelief and
anger against your kids
•Build your child’s emotional base-
Never allow them withdraw into
themselves
•Speak Out
•Seek Mentor who have suffered
ChildSexual Abuse to teach your
children how to cope

25. The Goal
• Create awareness and uncover the traumatic effect of sexual abuse (e.g
emotional and psychological) on victims.
•Encourage victims not to stay silent but expose their abusers and speak out
about their experiences
•Raise Ambassadors who would BOLDLY stand up against child sexual abuse
•Train stakeholders to protect their neighborhood and communities against
child sexual abuse.
• Build trauma Clinic integrated with counseling services to help victims
overcome their pain/shame as well as go through a recovery process.
•Establish a library and research Centre where relevant and current data on the
subject matter can be obtained
•Provide a Mentoring platform and a support network where victims are:
•Providing an opportunity to meet with role models both within and outside
Nigeria who have gone through similar experiences and are excelling
legitimately in their profession.

26. CONCLUSION
YOUMayBEHerONLYLIfeline
ACTNOW!
EndCHILDSEXUALAbuse.
26

27. Thank you