Child sexual abuse should not be treated as family affair ─Elizabeth Achimugu, lawyer, child rights advocate

Elizabeth Ebulejonu Achimugu is a lawyer, a child rights advocate and the founder of Protect the Child Foundation (PTCF). In this interview by ADEOLA OTEMADE, she discusses factors responsible for the increase in child sexual abuse in the society, among others.

WHAT gave birth to Protect the Child Foundation (PTCF)?

After the birth of my first child, a boy, in 2017, I became worried and scared for his safety as a result of many ugly reports of cases of child sexual abuse. I was very possessive of him and did not want any harm to befall him. The quest to protect him made me more curious about sexual safety for children and age appropriate sex education for them.

Unfortunately, I realised that sex and sex-related education are topics people hardly talk about as they are considered taboos or sacred in most African environments. Sadly, child sexual abuse thrives where there is ignorance, silence, and secrecy. In summary, the quest to protect my child against all forms of abuse gave birth to Protect the Child Foundation.

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What, in your opinion, is responsible for the rising cases of child sexual abuse?

I would not say cases of child sexual abuse is on the increase. Rather, I believe people are beginning to speak up more, unlike years back where many incidents occurred unreported. The recent increase in reported cases could be partly attributed to more enlightenment and advancement in technology, especially the social media revolution. This has made it look like child sexual abuse is on the increase.

Specifically, child sexual abuse is on the rise due to parental neglect. Regrettably, some parents neglect their roles while pursuing careers or for other endeavours and are allowing their children to be influenced by the society, the social media, celebrities among others. The reality is that, children cannot raise themselves and an untrained parent cannot properly train children.

It is in the realisation of this fact that at Protect the Child Foundation, train and work with parents as critical stakeholders on parenting so they can raise wholesome children. Ignorance is another factor, just like the popular saying “you cannot give what you don’t have”.

Lastly, the culture of silence. Silence has been a great weapon in the hands of abusers, as this enables them to keep moving from one child to another, since they know nobody will speak about it. Poor forensic investigation system, since abusers know evidence is key and Nigeria has a poor forensic system, they continue to go on with their evil acts because they believe they may never be caught.

The Holy Book in Ecclesiastes 8:11 (NLT) says, “When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.”

What efforts is PTCF making in addressing the menace of child sexual abuse?

I wish to state that PTCF is one of the NGOs committed to the fight against child sexual abuse in Nigeria, bearing in mind that children are the future, whose innocence must not be taken advantage of. We have a Safe Space (as our office is called) in Abuja where cases of child sexual abuse can be freely reported by survivors/stakeholders for necessary action. We also embark on advocacy/sensitisation against child sexual abuse in schools, places of worship, markets, and other fora. We also leverage on social media platforms to sensitise parents and stakeholders against the menace of child sexual abuse.

Similarly, we distribute sanitary pads (to female students) and other education materials to children from indigent homes, thereby encouraging increased school enrolment. Specifically, we started our advocacy visits to primary and secondary schools in Nigeria in 2018, and have directly impacted over 100,000 pupils/students/children directly as at 2022. We have donated thousands of easy-to-read body safety notebooks and charts to students and schools to encourage school attendance, easy access to writing materials and the right body safety information.

We engage in conversations around body safety and sexual abuse. Age appropriate sex education are often seen as a taboo or as family matters that ‘should not’ be talked about openly. Sadly, abusers and molesters take advantage of this to sexually abuse children. We are pleased to state that we have prepared ‘A train-the-trainers manual on: Creating sexual safety policies for schools, prevention, response and reportage of child sexual abuse in schools’ and have through our pilot training programme, held in Abuja from 7 – 8 April, 2022, trained over 70 participants/stakeholders directly and over 40 schools drawn from primary and secondary schools as well as over a thousand online participants.

So far, we have reached over 3,000,000 parents and guardians, both online and offline through our activities and campaigns. We have a thriving online community with over 25,000 members and followers.

Our goal is to break the culture of silence, encourage speaking out and end ignorance as well as encourage reportage of child sexual abuse for necessary action.

What challenges do you face running PTCF?

People often don’t speak up because of ignorance, the culture of silence, victim/survivor shaming. We also observe that some victims speak out late, especially where the goal is to achieve justice. The judicial system is basically evidence-driven, and sadly when child sexual abuse is reported late evidence may have been lost or unavailable, thereby enabling molesters to go scot free.

We also notice that some people are initially eager to report but when we take their cases to the press for prosecution/justice or psychosocial support for survivors, some suddenly become uncooperative, perhaps due to pressure to ‘settle’ some these cases as ‘family affair’. This takes me to the next issue, which is widespread poverty, a very big issue. You find that most vulnerable children in IDP camps, house helps, and children who live with relatives are most likely to be taken advantage of, using gifts and money.

We also have to deal with the fact that some people see cases of child sexual abuse as ‘family secret’. These things are seen as family secret, and reportage of abuse is seen as betrayal of the family. This is one challenge common to organisations working on cases of child sexual abuse. Poor reportage is an issue, as there is little one can do if these ugly incidents are not reported.

There is also the issue of language barrier. For example, in March 2022, we went for a sensitisation programme in a primary school at a suburb in Abuja (FCT). Unfortunately, most of the children could not communicate in English. We had to engage the services of interpreters in Hausa language to be able to communicate.

I must also mention that funding is a big challenge. We are grateful to our volunteers, support and donors who have provided support for us to be able to do the little we have been able to achieve. We believe we will be able to do much more with more funding and material support.

What measures do you recommend for parents, teachers, and other stakeholders to protect children against child sexual abuse?

Parents/guardians and stakeholders need to encourage open communication with their children and wards. Parents need to devout more time and enjoy the company of their children because it is from small conversations they will be able to hear big things.

Children are the future and the right investment in them will help protect the future. Child sexual abuse should not be treated as family affair. Let abusers be reported, punished and publicly disgraced. This will serve as a deterrence to others.

Age-appropriate sexuality and body safety education should be encouraged at homes and in schools. There is need for more enlightenment about the dangers of child sexual abuse and how to contain it. States need to create easy and accessible centres where cases of child sexual abuse can be reported and promptly handled.

How have you been able to balance running your home and work?

I must admit that juggling between work and family responsibility has not been easy. I am grateful for the kind of support system I have around me. My husband has been very supportive. I am also lucky to have dedicated staff and volunteers who often ease the burden on me. There is also the need to prioritise amidst competing demands for attention.

Do you feel women’s voices are now being hearkened to in the society?

Yes. Women are making a lot of difference. So, the world has no option than to listen to us.

What advice do you have for women out there who are struggling to make a difference?

Start today because there is no perfect time to start pursuing your vision and making a difference. Challenges will never end, but God has given us the ability to move above them so we can make a difference. Also seek for help. Nobody is an island. We all need help to help us make a difference.

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