Curbing child sexual abuse through sex education

(Nigeria) By Bukola Akanni

The World Health Organisation, WHO, describes child sexual abuse as a cruel and tragic occurrence.

Though there is no national statistics on the occurrence, observers maintain that child sexual abuse is on the increase in the country.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) defines child sexual abuse as ``the involvement of children in sexual activities that they do not fully comprehend, that they are unable to give informed consent to and that violate societal taboos’’.

For many people, sexual assault refers only to rape; but UNICEF says it takes the form of sexual harassment, rape or sexual exploitation in prostitution or pornography.

Tragically though, most victims of sexual assault are afraid to seek redress for fear of stigmatisation. Thus, the number of victims ready to report is reduced, leading to inaccurate statistics on its prevalence in the society.

Available statistics show that about one in 50 cases of rape is reported. The percentage of reported cases has continued to reduce over the years despite the increasing number of incidence.

A report by CLEEN Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, shows that the percentage of reported rape cases is far lower than the rate of other crimes like robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder.

The report adds that less than ``50 per cent of those who mustered courage to report are satisfied with the handling of the cases reported’’.

Mrs Amaka Awogu, Executive Director, Child Dignity Foundation, an NGO, who narrated live cases of sexual abuse on Nigerian children aged six months to 12 years, describes the act as a silent crime.

She urges parents to develop close relationships with their children, saying “Parents should learn to bond with their children and not shut them out.’’

``This will enable the child to confide in her parents at all times and in all situations; the chance of an abuse can be avoided because the child is encouraged to share experiences without fear,” she said.

According to her, an open relationship will increase the likelihood of nipping abuse in the bud.

``For instance, if someone hits his or her butt, he or she will immediately tell you without fear of being rebuked, alerting you to questionable behaviours by adults,” she explained.

Awogu says that sex education also helps parents prevent child sexual abuse by educating children of the kind of suspicious behaviours to report.

According to her, knowledge is power, and sex education qualifies as information that should be included in school curricula.

``If you do not teach them, someone else will; and it is very much likely to be the wrong information. Parents should not feel they are too young to understand.

``Teach them to call their private parts by their names, not code names like `kokoro’. Let them know that no one has the right to touch them without their permission.

``Once a child can read and write, you should encourage her to keep a diary where she writes what happens to her on a daily basis.

``You should look through the diary from time to time and know what is happening to your girl while you are not around,” she said.

Awogu says many parents try to shut their child up when an abuse is discovered for fear of stigmatisation.

``Most Nigerians think that rape of a child is one of those things, and it will go away; but the reality is that the trauma does not go away. There is need for massive public enlightenment programmes for parents and guardians. Keeping quite is not a good thing. By reporting and sharing their experiences, they are saving another child from being a victim.

``One child raped is one too many. We have had cases where some parents, especially mothers suffer from the long-term trauma,” she said.

A psychiatrist, Dr Peter Ogunnubi, says that the number of reported incidents of sexual abuse is low because of secondary victimisation and subjugation of victims.

Ogunnubi, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Psychiatry, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, says that victims of sexual abuse are often further victimised by their parents and friends.

``The reason why we do not have many reported cases of child sexual abuse is because of secondary victimisation of victims by their parents. For instance, a parent might stop a child who has been violated sexually from voicing what happened to her,” he said.

He says this is often the case when the abuser is a family member, or due to the fear of societal scorn.

Ogunnubi says poverty is one of the factors responsible for child sexual abuse.

``Abuse is rampant when a parent who cannot provide for their child sends the child to live with relatives or friends without finding out how he or she  is being treated,’’ he said.

He says that sexual abuse should be checked because of the health and psychological consequences on victims.

``The health and psychological consequences of abuse can be severe and long-term. The consequences might vary from virginal bleeding, chronic pelvic pain, and urinary infection to depression and lack of empathy.

 ``Also, it might result in the victim developing low self esteem and also self blame, lack of motivation to seek care, aggression and eating disorder. In later life, the victim might commit suicide due to depression and anxiety,” he said.

Ogunnubi says that the victims are at high risk of contracting infectious diseases, adding that punishment should be very stiff to serve as deterrent.

``Perpetrators should be disgraced publicly, shamed, ex-communicated from all associations or in severe cases, jailed for an appreciable period of time,” he said.

The WHO agrees that child sexual abuse is a global public health problem, stressing that it can be tackled through sex education.

It says that one out of every three girls and one out of every six boys will have experienced one form of sexual abuse before attaining the age of 18 years.

As the WHO describes child sexual abuse as cruel and tragic occurrence, social commentators also agree that it constitutes a serious infringement on a child’s right to health and protection, and must be curbed at all cost.

* Bukola Akanni is a staff of News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.