Crime
SOME child protection stakeholders in have identified weak institutions, beliefs and customs as major challenges in tackling violence and abuse against children in the country.
They made these known during the training on “Ending Violence/Abuse against Children’’ organised for teachers and caregivers by the Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace (COFP) in Abuja on Friday.
The stakeholders said weak institutions, beliefs and customs should be adequately strengthened and reviewed to reduce the high rate of violence against children and abuse in the society.
Rev. Sr. Agatha Chikelue, the COFP Director, said addressing violence and abuse against children would demand the strengthening of the institution with statutory responsibility to defend, protect and promote rights and welfare.
“Somehow, I will say the institutions are weak in protecting child rights and children in the society.
“Mind you, what make up our institutions are our beliefs and culture which are part of the main problem because some of our cultures to promote violence even without knowing it against these children.
“And when this violence comes up in the community you hear the community saying `oh no, don’t worry we are going to address it, we are going to take care of it in our own way’ and at the end of the day nothing serious is being done about it.
“ I think all these have to stop, we really have to find a way to strengthen these institutions and one of the ways we have told them is that institutions, communities have to work with security agents like the police.
“Whatever rules you have in your institution, you have to find a way to link it up with the security agents.’’
Chikelue said one way of implementing the Child Rights Act was to involve human rights institutions and other institutions that protect the rights of children.
Mr Alhassan Awwal, a teacher in the FCT Local Education Authority Primary School, (LEA) Toge-Sabo said some of the challenges in addressing violence against children usually emanate from parents.
“Some of these challenges come from the parents themselves because this is Nigeria and this is Africa.
“We see some of these abuses as being strange to us or as being foreign.
“Because, if you tell an African man that he should not hit his child as a corrective measure, he will see you as bringing something new and of course it will be very difficult for him to accept that. So I think it is a challenge.
“And some abuses happen in the family and when you as an outsider try to correct them, definitely you will receive some resistance.’’
Contributing, Mrs Maria Akogwu, a teacher and a counselor with Kingdom Heritage Model School, Durumi, said the major challenge was for children to speak out when they were being abused.
“One of the major challenges is even identifying your problem because, most of these victims do not come out to speak and if they do not come out to speak, you as a counselor will not know.
“That is why we encourage them to always speak out; let them not be silent for fear of victimisation.
“So, the major challenge is speaking out about their ordeal, or sharing it with someone else.’’
Also, Ms Chioma Lilian, a Guidance and Counsellor in LEA, Primary School Jabi, said most guardians preferred to withdraw children who had been abused to protect the child, thereby hindering justice.
“Some of the challenges I have faced in the course of my work is from the guardians because most of them are not the parents of the children they prefer to withdraw the child without seeking justice.
“And most times it is difficult to trace such children.’’
Lilian said some teachers and head teachers who should protect children, tend to cover cases of abuse in their schools to the detriment of the child.
NAN
-Sep 27, 2019 @18:24 GMT |
Tags: Stakeholders identify weak institutions as bane of child abuse
