ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. UNICEF Country Representative, Jean Gough, has urged the Federal Government to ensure that all Nigerian Children, irrespective of tribe, location, status and religion were protected and offered the opportunity to grow up free from all forms of violence.
She noted that Violence against Children was not somebody else’s problem but everyone’s problem transcending social, economic status, and impacts rich and poor, urban and rural, educated and out of school children.
According to her, when people think of physical, sexual and emotional violence against children, they think of it as happening to someone else family and in some else community
Gough gave this hint during a press conference organised by Ministry of Information, Women Affairs and National Population Commission to share the findings of the Nigeria Violence against Children survey, held Thursday in Abuja.
“On behalf of UNICEF Nigeria, I wish to congratulate the Government of Nigeria for undertaking this ground breaking survey on violence against children and for being the first country in West Africa to do so and the 9th in the world. It is also commendable that the Government is making the survey findings widely known, shining a spotlight on what the survey shows is a significant problem in Nigeria.”
“It is also highlighted by the fact that ending violence against children is included as a target under the Sustainable Development Goals, to be launched later this month by the member states of the United Nations, the inclusion of this target is a clear message that violence not only impacts the individual child or family, violence against children impacts the whole Nigerian society.
“Therefore, that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is Launching the Year of Action to End Violence against Children on 15th, September, in response to the findings not only recognises the fundamental role that the Government at Federal and States levels has to play in preventing and responding to violence against children, but the critical role that all Nigerians have in ending violence against children,” she said.
Speaking also, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs, Dr. Ezekiel Oyememi said prevalence of violence against children was high in Nigeria, adding, “Over 60% of children will experience one or more types of violence before the age of 18 years. This means millions of our children are subject to sexual, emotional and physical violence every year, wide spread beyond imagination.”
According to him, violence started young as one in 10 children’s first experience of physical violence was before the age of 5 years. “When we refer to physical violence, we do not mean spanking or slapping. “The survey focused on Kicking, whipping, drowning, chocking, smothering, intentional burning, being hit or threatened with a weapon. So, children are suffering extreme levels of violence at a very young age, the innocent suffers the villain’s unchecked rampage”, he explained
Credit: ThisDay (Nigeria)
