Sexual Abuse - An Insidious Evil

Sexual abuse of women and vulnerable children in Nigeria is happening each and every day. There are countless stories in the newspapers and on social media about children and women who have been subjected to the horrors of sexual abuse in various forms and the numbers seem to be increasing daily. In 2013, the Lagos state command reported that 678 rape cases were recorded between March 2012 and March 2013. This is only the smallest tip of the iceberg because most cases remain unreported particularly in rural areas where traditional and religious structures hold sway and seek to protect the perpetrator rather than the victim.

The federal government of Nigeria seems to be working towards establishing laws that protect both women and vulnerable children from this menace. However, much is left to be desired regarding the speed and seriousness with which this is being done. As an example, the Nigerian Child's right act which was passed into law in 2003 is still to be adopted by 10 out of 36 states of the Nigerian federation, and even in the states where the bill has been adopted, it is hard to see what impact if any it has had on protection of children against sexual acts. As for protection of women from abuse, the law has failed miserably as the law itself is discriminatory, placing women as second class citizens. It is still lawful for a man to 'discipline' his wife and any violent act against women is seen as a 'misdemeanor' carrying a maximum term of 2 years as compared to the 3 year sentence meted out for the same violations against a man. Thankfully, there are many organisations and feminist human rights lawyers who have taken up the issue of correcting the laws with the federal government and hopefully over time, this will lead to changes that will benefit both vulnerable women and children.

Notwithstanding the beleaguered state of affairs, there is something really simple that can be done NOW to begin to destroy this monster that is among us; We can talk about it, We can spread the word that child and female sexual abuse can be radically reduced if not stopped by empowering potential victims through education on how to protect themselves. Until we start talking about it, sexual abuse will remain an insidious evil that continues to operate in a seemingly harmless way but with very grave consequences for our soceity.

We need to talk about sexual abuse with our colleagues, children, family members, domestic servants and acquaintances etc. The more we talk about it and expose its existence and wrongness, the more potential victims will realize the danger that exists and would be perpetrators will no longer be able to pick off victims at will as it will get harder for them to commit these crimes. We shouldn't let anyone that we know become a victim, that in itself would be an injustice. To find out more information on how to talk about sexual or educate people, email moprotsa@gmail.com. Alternatively, the internet contains a wealth of information about preventing sexual abuse, some of this information is available from the following sites:

• http://www.stopitnow.org.uk
• http://www.rainn.org/get-information/sexual-assault-prevention/protecting-a-child-from-sexual-assault
• http://www.d2l.org/

Let us kill this monster by unearthing it and exposing it to the glare of the the public. Dont delay, let us start now, let us start today.