Women
THE Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace (COFP) says it has embarked on training of teachers and caregivers on how to handle violence against children across the country.
Rev. Sister Agatha Chikelue, the Director, COFP, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the training organised by the foundation for 30 beneficiaries in Abuja on Friday.
Chikelue said the purpose of the workshop was to train teachers on “Ending Violence/Abuse Against Children”.
She said that the main objective of the workshop was to bring to the notice of teachers, caregivers, religious leaders the high rate of abuse and violence against children.
“It is also to educate them on how to track this kind of issue in the society and how to address it by developing practical monitoring and reporting mechanisms on violence against children,” she said.
She said there was a need for institutions to work with security agencies in ensuring the rights of children were protected.
Earlier, Chikelue told participants that violence against children was on the increase, decrying that it was perpetrated by people who the children were entrusted to protect them.
“Children are now exposed to life they are supposed to have in the next 10 to 20 years by their parents, teachers, relatives and religious leaders.
“They have been put on that line at a tender age and if this is not addressed what kind of society are we going to have in the future?”
She urged the participants to go back to their various communities, schools, churches, mosques to implement what they had learnt and find ways to address the issue of child abuse.
“So you must draw up programmes and activities to checkmate this, many children have lost hope in their parents and they are looking up to you, can they trust you?
“Make your students your friends, when you do, they will open up to you and you would help save and direct them,” she said.
Mrs Amaka Nwokocha, a facilitator told the participants that abuse could either be sexual, psychological, or physical, adding that sexual and psychological were the most common ones in the country.
Nwokocha said sexual abuse had serious effects because the child was been forced into something he or she was not prepared for physically and mentally, thereby creating a negative impact on the child.
She said giving a child tribal marks was a form of abuse and should be discouraged.
Mr Austin Nnakwe, the Programmes Manager of COFP said that protecting the rights of children could not be overemphasised, adding that there was no institution that was immune to abusing children.
Nnakwe said that there was the need to strengthen various institutions to prosecute child abuse offenders, saying “there is no negotiation when it comes to child abuse’’.
“If the parents are weak, teachers must learn to speak out for these children and we most correct them in love instead of abusing them,” said Nnakwe .
Participants, who spoke with NAN said they had learnt many new things from the training and would go back to their various organisations and train their colleagues on what they had learnt.
Mr Alhassan Awwal, from LEA Primary School Toge-Sabo, AMAC, Abuja said one new thing he learnt was that negligence such as denying the child food was a form of child abuse.
“As a participant, it is my duties to go back to my school and step down by training other teachers so they can learn what I have learnt to effect changes where necessary.”
He called on the organiser to invite more parents in subsequent trainings so that there could be more awareness on violence against children and how it could be stopped.
Ms Chioma Lillian, a Guardian and Counsellor with LEA Primary School, Jabi, said “For instance I did not know that confining a children is a form of abuse that is locking the child up in the house of closet”.
Mr Peter Jude, a teacher with Sheikh Abubakar Gumni Academy, Asokoro, said he had learnt how to study children to find out if they were being abused and how to help them protect themselves and guide them to a better future.
“Child abuse is one thing that affects them psychologically, mentally and in their academics and as a teacher if I cannot identify how to help my students achieve their goals then I have failed as a teacher.
“When we get back to school, we will organise training for our colleagues, so we can impact this same knowledge to them so we work as a team to achieve this goal.”
NAN reports that participants were drawn from schools, orphanages, and different religious institutions in the FCT.(NAN)
– Sept. 27, 2019 @ 13:59 GMT |
Tags: Onaiyekan foundation trains caregivers teachers on handling violence against children
