CHILD ABUSE

Abdulrahaman shehu zulkifli,

E-mail:[email protected],Tel:+2370911938954

INTRODUCTION ;

A child is someone below the age of adulthood,a child is a minor ,someone below the legal age of
responsibility and accountability.Naturally, children are vulnerable,innocent and so have to be
protected against all odds by or from the adult ones.The general consensus on the age of a child is
18 years.For example Article II of African Charter on The Rights and Welfare of the Child,1989 and
Article I of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child,199I.

In Nigeria,the Child Rights Act (Laws of Federation of Nigeria,2010)section 77 also posited that “a
child means a person under the age of eighteen years”. Nonetheless,various domestic enactments
such as the Criminal code which is applicable in the Southern states of the country and penal code
which is applicable in the Northern part of the country.Both laws make specific provisions for lower
ages ,these shall be discussed later in this article.

CHILD ABUSE :

Abuse literally means a physical maltreatment of a child,child abuse can therefore be said to be the
act of exposing children to physical,mental and psychological trauma.Children are vulnerable beings
as states earlier,they are not capable of resisting abuse as adults can.

Child abuse is when a parent, caregiver or anyother adult perosn whether through action or failing
to act,causes injury,death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child,(CHILD HELP
FOUNDATION,SARA O MEARA AND YVONNE FEDDERSON).

Chlid abuse is a dreaded act that affects the whole humanity,it is more dreaded in Nigeria,the fact
are shocking,the statistics are alarming.

There are many forms of child abuse given to the ways and manners in which this afflictions are
afflicted on these vulnerable beings, ranging from physical, emotional and psychological,and lastly a
dreaded ,most reprehensible, vicious but epidemic,Child Sexual Abuse,the main subject-matter of
this discourse.

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

Child sexual abuse occurs when an adult uses a child for sexual purposes or involves a child in sexual
activities for sexual gratification or excitement.There are different types of sexual abuse which
includes non genital touching, genital touching,penetrative.
One will find it more disturbing,more difficult ,irritating what kind of sexual urge or passion one
finds in a child,so immoral.Their shadow evokes fear,their presence is terror,one can even assert
that the devil is not as devilish as these blackguards,they are the most dirtiest on earth.

Paedophilia is such a sickening statement,can you imagine the emotional and psychological trauma it
would strike on the victim and the victims family members,so deplorable and a rebuked act,so much
a taboo.

Nonetheless,child sexual abuse is rampant in Africa. In Nigeria ,the United Nations International
children Emergency Fund(UNICEF)in 2015 reported that one in four girls experience sexual violence
before the age of 18 years,while one in ten boys are sexually abused before they attained the age
of 18years.The facts as stated above are deplorable,the statistics are shocking and gruesome.

SHOCKING FACTS AND ALARMING STATISTICS ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

The CECE YARA FOUNDATION ........save the child ,in an effort to join the campaign to” end violence
against children by 2030”.CYF conducted child helpline Needs Assessment survey:

About perpetrators of child sexual abuse,88% of victims know their abusers.

Child sexual abuse increases the chance of unwanted pregnancy , dropping out of school, and
sexually transmitted diseases.

Only 4.2% of victims receive help(UNICEF,ENDVAC survey,2014).

What kind of passion does a 68years old man finds in having sexual intercourse with a three years
old girl,this is not a fictitious statement as I will set out some recent cases on child sexual abuse in
Nigeria,its very rampant and devilish that there are some one can never imagine or believe it could
ever happen,but it happens! As they say,the world is coming to an end,this act no doubt verify this
assertion.

The Central Hospital Benin said it recorded 80 rape cases between March and Mid-October 2013.The
hospital said 90 per cent of the abuse was committed by blood relationsand neighbours.

What the woman has as people say is her dignity,it is this dignity that men have stripped off little
girls,many of this abuse are not reported because of stigma and shame.The Nigerian society or Africa
at large is known for her dreaded Stigmatization.The case is so deplorable that many children fall
victim of sexual abuse by their own fathers or guardians.

On 21 August,2019,one Shedrack Ejinwo,75 years old, was arrested by Rivers State police command
for allegedly defiling a 14 years old girl at Kendox medical services where he was receiving treatment
as HIV patient.Exposing her to this deadly disease through rape.The suspect was soon to be released
by the police after he entered into an out-of-court settlement with the victim’s father,Rufus Felix to
pay three hundred and seventy Naira monthly until February 2020.

According to Harrison Gwamnishu a Delta based human rights activist,who confirmed the release of
the suspect ,the victim’s father was persuaded by the wife of the medical doctor of the clinic where
the victim worked as a sæles girl,to keep the rape a secret and place the girl on drugs,for prevention
of the virus.Harrison was bewildered when he came to know of the release of the rapist by the
police,he initially promised to pay for the girl’s medical treatment,but unfortunately the rapist and
the victim’s father entered into an out-of-court settlement to finance the medical bill of the victim
and so thereby released from police custody.Its quite unfortunate for a 14 years old girl to be raped
and defiled by someone old enough to be her grandfather,such is the case of child sexual abuse,one
of the most traumatizing forms of violence against children ,usually committed by a person in a
position of power and trust in the child’s life.

Indeed,a recent World Health Organization report states that so prevalent is child sexual abuse that
the abuse begins long before the survivor turns five,so despicable.

Most of these cases are not reported,many fear the stigma it can strike on family reputation .Mrs
Tope Abiara,founder of love clinic revealed that 95% of the cases are kept a secret.

Doctor Musa Shuaibu ,a specialist on children’s health issues,said cases pertaining to child abuse is
nearly a daily basis occurrence.Another claimant Hauwa Hassan,a philanthropist who own and
manages an orphanage for about a decade has worked with about 20 homes dealing with child
sexual abuse.She said only 3 of them took the advice to go to court.

A case reported about one young woman living at the orphanage named Ladi left her home after her
father raped her daughter.
My daughter was covered inblood,picked her up and just stood there,he was someone I had always
respected,so i did not say anything to him.I picked her up and went to town with her in the
morning,Ladi could not return to her village because her father was the chief there.His
granddaughter,what a shame!Its a tragedy that children are not safe in the hands of their family
members.

A fruit seller in Kaduna,sentenced to three years jail term for luring a seven years old boy into his
shop and sexually abusing him.The boy said he was walking when the fruit seller persuaded him to
go to the back of his business.The abuse continued until the boy told an uncle about pains in his
body.The uncle,Anas Abdullahi umar said he went to the police.He said many of his friends
suggested they go beat up the man but he refused to take law into his own hand.The court found
him guilty under a colonial sodomy law and sentenced to three years imprisonment.Many activists in
different part of the country have advocated for stronger and laws to punish those found guilty of
child sexual abuse.I shall discuss about the provisions of law regulating child sexual abuse in the
Penal Code and Criminal Act respectively.Most of child sexual abuse cases are settled amicably,how
could that be,sucha weak penalty for a heinous crime.It has been noted that it is easy for sexual
offenders to escape justice.In Kano state only forty rapists out of more than hundred cases were
convicted in 2013(Punch;March 27,2016).

THE CONDEMNABLE AND ABOMINABLE NATURE OF THE CRIME

The act of unlawful carnal knowledge of a minor as condemnable and Abominable os best
appreciated whn one understand who a child is.Generally a child is a person below the age of
eighteen years,this is stipulated in many International Instruments(Micheal.A.A).For example,article
II of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1989 provides that a child is a person
below eighteen.While Specific laws in making certain provisions as the age for which a person can be
termed a child.A good example of reduction of age with respect to specific laws and creations of law
is found in the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Penal Code.These are the principal
enactments on crime in Nigeria.The former is in force in 16 Southern states in Nigeria while the
latter is in force in 19 northern states in Nigeria(Micheal.A.A).

In the Criminal Code, section 218 provides for life imprisonment for the unlawful carnal knowledge of
a girl under the age of eleven years,and fourteen years for attemp to commit the offence.
On the other hand,section 282 of the Penal Code provides for life imprisonment for the rape of a girl
below the age of fourteen,having raped or attempts to rape.Both the provisions provide a severe
penalty for the offence of child rape.Unfortunately,the courts in Nigeria have on conviction imposed
jail terms that are ridiculous,absurd and irritating.For example in the words of Okoro J.S.C in the case
of Adonike v state,where the appellant is been convicted for the offence of child rape for raping a girl
of five years and sentenced to six years imprisonment with six strokes of cane.The convict appealed
against the conviction of the trial court at the court of appeal and the supreme court whereat the
conviction was affirmed respectively.Okoro J.S.C noted that:I wish it was more than this,
unfortunately there was no appeal against the sentence.Agreeing with Okoro J.S.C on the
inadequate penalty,Muntaka Coomassie stated; “had the trial judge or indeed the court below by
chance sentenced the appelant to death or life imprisonment,i would have kept mum”.

The courts, especially the trial court should be ready to impose severe penalty for sexual abuse
offences if truly it intends to uphold justice.Many cases similar to the case above have experienced
such a meagre penalty for such a horrible crime.

CONCLUSION

However,parents or guardians should be more observant and vigilant as they are the true
protectoramd shielder of their children.They should listen to their children,spend more time with
them because many abusers usually keep the shame to themselves.Parents need to be available for
their children especially mothers, children should feel free and open to discuss issues with their
parents as they are vulnerable and dependant beings.
Where the abuse is known ,the family of the abused must face the problem and protect the child at
all cost and make sure that the abuser is seriously dealth with according to the law.

Not only the family members have a role or roles to play,the society must take active participation
and shun Stigmatization against the poor victim.They should exhibit zero tolerance to rapists by
shaming the perpetrators and the rapist should be severely stigmatized by the society.

The government has an enormous responsibility here, ensuring that all child rights law is enforced in
all States and more stringent measures should be taken by all levels of government against the
culprit.