By Adebola Adegoke, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Ms Eno (not real name) was devastated when she discovered that her 14-year-old niece, who was under her care was defiled and impregnated by her sister’s brother in-law.
“Before we could know, the pregnancy was already five months and even in the school, they didn’t notice because of the kind of body she has.
“I started questioning her, who is responsible? She said that it’s my sister’s husband’s brother. He had been coming to the house to defile her when I am not around,” she said.
Child sexual abuse is a grave public health crisis in Nigeria, robbing many children of their innocence and safety.
Reports show that 90 per cent of abusers are familiar to the victims, making it even more challenging for the affected children to seek help.
Also, for those children who have reported violence, fewer than five out of a 100 received any form of support, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Many survivors are unaware of how to report abuse or access support services.
However, a child-centred non-profit organisation, Cece Yara Child Advocacy Centre Foundation, is providing comprehensive care, protection, and legal assistance to child survivors of sexual abuse and those at risk.
Eno said she was introduced to Cece Yara Foundation through her friend, after all efforts to hold the perpetrator accountable proved abortive.
“The boy denied the first time but he later said he was responsible. I first got him arrested after he abandoned my niece and refused to take care of her. So his brother came to plead with me and he was bailed.
“After he was bailed, the boy, his brother and my sister started insulting me saying that with all my anger, there was nothing I could do.
“This got me angry and I started looking for ways to ensure he was charged and went to jail. I told people and one of my friends introduced me to Cece Yara Foundation.
“They took up the case free of charge and they have been providing legal services and managing the court case since then.
“When my niece was put to bed, the foundation also helped to take care of medical bills incurred during the process.”
Eno revealed that since the incident, she had also received a lot of backlash from her sister and her husband who were aware of the abuse but kept it hidden.
Experts and advocates say the stigma associated with abuse and the culture of silence by discourage survivors from speaking out and seeking help.
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21 year-old Amina (not real name) did not hesitate to report her step father who had serially defiled his 11 years old biological daughter.
Amina narrated: “My half-sister came to me that her father, my step father, had molested and touched her inappropriately. I recorded it immediately she told me because he had tried to rape me in the past but he didn’t succeed.
“I reported to our Sunday school teacher in church who took us to Cece Yara at Gbagada. When we got to the place, my sister was questioned and they took up the case, provided medical and legal support. He was arrested and charged to court.”
This singular brave act that Amina showed had earned her a bad name in the family.
“I was thrown out of the family house for reporting the case. They said that I am the one that broke the family and took their son to jail.
“I have nowhere to go and I am currently staying in church while my half siblings are in a shelter provided by the Lagos State Government while the case is still on-going,” she said.
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Child Protection
According to Mrs Bisi Ajayi-Kayode, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cece Yara, the foundation employs a multidisciplinary team approach to comprehensively address the needs of children affected by sexual abuse.
This approach, she said, recognised that no single agency can provide all the necessary support, from case reporting to psychotherapy, legal information, access to justice, and family reunion.
“Our online reporting system and partnerships with schools, religious bodies, and government agencies ensure that children in need can access support at any time.
“The foundation offers a one-stop response that profiles the necessary interventions for each child, emphasising the importance of interagency collaboration,” she said.
According to her, the foundation is particularly attentive to the peculiarity of each case, understanding that children abused by family members may face additional challenges, such as not being believed or supported.
“We deploy a case management team approach. Upon receiving reports of child abuse through our 24-hour helpline (0800 800 8001), website, mail or social media pages, the foundation’s social workers conduct verification and risk assessments, often in collaboration with the police.
“They assess the child’s living conditions and identify risks for vulnerable groups, including children from broken homes, orphans, children with disabilities, trafficked children, and those from marginalised communities.
“After verification, the foundation reports the case to the police and the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, assisting in the arrest of perpetrators and the relocation of affected children.
“For individuals needing financial assistance to escape abusive situations, we liaise with relevant government authorities,” she said.
She said that the foundation collaborates with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DVSA), Office of the Public Defender (OPD) and the Ministry of Education.
In cases involving schools, they partner with the Education Quality Assurance Unit of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education in Lagos State.
Ajayi-Kayode says the foundation operates a shelter that can give temporary accommodation to 85 children, offering a safe and regulated environment where survivors can heal and rebuild their lives.
She said that children in the shelter are typically referred by the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, especially cases where the perpetrator is a parent, and the non-offending parent either lacks the capacity to care for the child or is considered an accomplice.
She added that the foundation provides comprehensive psychosocial support, including counselling for the child, non-offending family members, and facilitating access to paediatric psychiatric care when needed.
Gbemisola Ogunrinde, Lead Psychotherapist at Cece Yara Child Advocacy Centre, emphasised the importance of psycho-education in empowering survivors with knowledge about personal safety, boundaries, and age-appropriate sex education and preventing reoccurrence of abuse.
Ogunrinde said that a key aspect of the intervention is moving at the survivor’s pace, especially when dealing with children who may be reluctant to speak.
She explained that this reluctance can stem from the trauma itself or feelings of guilt and discomfort.
“Art is another way they could express whatever hurt that they are experiencing as a result of the trauma providing an alternative outlet for those who may struggle with verbal expression.
“The initial counselling sessions focus on building rapport, with an emphasis on validation, affirmation, and encouragement. The process is gentle, and survivors are not forced to disclose their experiences until they are ready.”
Forensic Interviews
The National Children’s Advocacy Centre defines forensic interview as a single session, recorded interview designed to elicit a child’s unique information when there are concerns of possible abuse or when the child has witnessed violence against another person.
At Cece Yara Foundation, the forensic interview process is a critical component of their multidisciplinary approach to child protection.
Ajayi-Kayode explained that the child forensic interview is a structural process of eliciting information from a child about a crime or an event the child has refused to express in an age-appropriate and developmentally sensitive manner.
The foundation has trained judges, prosecutors, officials of the Lagos State ministry of justice, the police, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and other stakeholders on Child Forensic Interview, aimed at promoting justice and safeguarding the rights of vulnerable children.
“We are advocating for the adoption of a record-setter forensic interview and investigative protocol which will ensure that every survivor of child sexual abuse undergoes a forensic interview process that will facilitate effective investigation and prosecution of the case, thereby establishing a firm child-friendly justice system,” Ajayi-Kayode said.
Addressing Challenges and Advocating for Change
Securing justice and healing for survivors of sexual abuse still poses a great challenge for the foundation.
Ajayi Kayode said that a significant barrier to supporting children and accessing justice is the prevalence of negative socio-cultural complexities associated with case reporting, where some parents pressure their children to stay silent, fearing the consequences for the family, such as a parent or relative going to prison.
This was the case for Eno and Amina whose families had blacklisted them for reporting a family member and taking them to court.
She, however, said that the foundation was addressing this challenge through awareness and prevention campaigns against acts of child sexual abuse.
Ajayi-Kayode said that Cece Yara aims to shift societal attitudes and ensure children receive the support and justice they need.
“Also in the area of poverty, we see a lot of indigent clients that want to access our services and they are not able to do so.
“To support them, we provide logistics assistance, including transportation to the police station, medical unit, and our offices.
“We also address survivors’ fear of going to court, acting as a support system to help navigate the criminal justice system.
“We reassure survivors and their families that we will accompany them to court, as accessing justice is a crucial part of the healing process.
“To date, we have secured eight convictions in court, have filed about 78 cases, and have 57 on-going, ensuring that we keep the wheel of justice rolling.
“Our focus remains on maintaining high standards of support, and we seek additional funding to continue our work,” she said.(NAN)
***This story is with support from the Solutions Journalism Network and the Nigeria Health Watch.
