To conclude the years’16 days of activism against sexual/gender-based violence against children and vulnerable persons, Spotlight Initiative in conjunction with UNICEF held an inter-agency review of cases of sexual violence reported to Social welfare, Police, Ministry of Justice, NAPTIP, and NGOs.
The aim is to have a shared understanding of the bottlenecks constraining the adjudication of cases and to facilitate pro-bono legal aid/support team to provide tailored legal aid, advice, support, and effective referrals for the child victim.
Another objective of creating this solution room is to work with relevant heads of agencies in the police, Ministry of Justice, NAPTIP, and Judiciary with a view of removing the systemic barriers, accelerating legal aid, and access to justice, and enhancing synergy as well as information amongst agencies.
Relevant stakeholders including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), European Union (EU), FCT Judiciary, Nigeria Police Force, Legal Aid Council, NAPTIP, United Nations (UN), FCT Social Development Secretariat, Network University Legal Aid Institution (NULAI), Child Protection Network (CPN) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI) were in attendance.
Some of the participants at the event
The Solution Room workshop was held from Wednesday 8th to Friday 10th December 2021 at Reiz Continental Hotel, Central Business District Abuja.
A total of eighty (80) cases were reviewed by volunteer members of various agencies and NGOs.
Problems highlighted and discussed consist of:
Underage marriage
Child rape
Child defilement
Sexual abuse and exploitation of children in physical space
Online sexual exploitation
Child trafficking and
Child prostitution
Group 7 Members of the event–L-R: Nneamaka Onyema, Esq.., June Idang, Esq., Justice, Esq., Mr.s Imabong Sanusi, Barr. Lillian Okenwa, Ms. Yetunde and Michael Ejeh, Esq.
Part of the conversation also includes that sexual exploitation leads to:
Death
Injuries
Impaired brain
Lifelong consequences
Teenage pregnancies – induced abortions – gynaecological problems.
Sexually transmitted deceases
Impact future opportunities
Generational problems
Nneamaka Onyema, Esq.
Some of the challenges faced in prosecuting suspects/perpetrators of this violence raised by the solution room include:
Difference in age of child in different states
Stigmatization
Watering down of the provisions of the Child’s Rights Act in different states
Some states have not adopted the Child’s Rights Act
Prosecution issues
Delayed justice
Solutions to a few of these problems raised were also discussed and highlighted thus—
Strategic investigation and prosecution
Implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the CRA
Increased community driven advocacy/ sensitisations
Inter-agencies collaborations
Strengthen social welfare network in the FCT and beyond
Legal backing to social welfare
Provision of safe houses
At the end of the 3day workshop, volunteers indicated interest to follow up on fifty (50) priority cases for further prosecution and follow-up.
Nneamaka ONYEMA, Esq is an Abuja-based Legal practitioner.
This is such an important initiative! I've seen firsthand how lack of menstrual hygiene education affects girls' education. Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you for sharing this. As a teacher, I've seen the difference this education makes. More schools need to implement these programs.
Thank you for your feedback, Amina! We'd love to partner with your school. Please reach out to us through our contact page.
Great article! I'm particularly impressed by the approach of including boys in the education. This is crucial for breaking the stigma.