By Ugboaja Felix Ojonugwa
With ceaseless occurrence, the media have been awash over time with reports of child sexual abuses. These abuses which can either be rape, stimulation or genital exhibition are committed by older persons on minors. Most times, when issues of sexual abuse are raised, it is only female victims that come to mind. Research shows that boys are as much victims as girls.
In late October, the local media were awash with reports of alleged sodomy scandal at a popular boys boarding secondary school in Kano State. The news was first reported by a Kano-based private radio which quoted some students of the school to have reported that they were carnally abused by unknown perpetrators.
Even though the school’s proprietor initially denied that the students were abused, he confirmed that the students had reported the presence of an unidentified person in their dormitory, who tried to undress them.
But one of the assaulted boys whose voice was aired by the radio station confirmed that he was sexually harassed by an unidentified person who covered his mouth and forcefully sodomised him. The student further confirmed that another JSS 3 student also informed him that somebody has been assaulting him sexually since his first year in the school.
Parents of some students of the school also confirmed that their wards had reported the sexual assault to them. Following the reports, the state government ordered the closure of the school and set up a committee to investigate the allegations that students at the school engaged in homosexual acts. One of the victims who has been admitted to the hospital is still unable to walk as at this time.
It was found that the school authorities and other concerned stakeholders did all they could to smother the news from filtering out to the public. But that very act which may be a sign that there has always been a history didn’t do much this time to stop the public from finding out.
Many people have a misconception that it is only the female child that can be sexually abused. This is a very popular misconception and an unfortunate diversion from the other sufferers of child sex offenders. While the situation is already alarming, it is most unfortunate how many have come to imagine and believe that these abuses are only suffered by the girl-child, not realising that even the male-child is just as vulnerable.
Findings showed that there are almost as many male victims as there are females. According to Dr Ernest Odion, one of the coordinators of a non-governmental organisation, Alliance Against Sex Offenders, for every five cases they have handled, boys are no less than two. And that is even changing in recent times as the numbers between boys and girls are beginning to equalise.
Findings by the Nigeria Violence Against Children
Findings by the Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey, the population-based study that provides the first nationally representative data on the prevalence of sexual, physical, and emotional violence among female and male children in Nigeria, which was released in September, show that violence against children is not confined to marginalised groups.
The report revealed that violence against children transcends gender, social and economic status, urban and rural, educated and out of school children. It is a problem that affects all and everyone of the society.
“In most homes, where parents take it upon themselves to caution their children about sexual abuse, attention is often paid to only the girl-child. And this is so because people feel that girls are more physically vulnerable, but it is not always the case. The boys are just as vulnerable as the girls. That boys are physically stronger than girls is no reason to think that they cannot be abused. Because of this perception, they even suffer a more violent form of abuse compared to girls. There is the need to enlighten both sexes about the potential dangers out there,” said Dr Odion.
Under the 1959 UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and other subsequent amendments, the rights of the child, especially the right from any form of physical, emotional and sexual violation, are well articulated and member states are obligated to uphold the declaration. But ever since, the situation has been anything but different.
The stories are as horrifying as they get. Victims are left disenchanted, molested and traumatised, while the abusers face little or no consequences at all.
Children are used for all sorts of sexual perversion, from rape to defilement and even use of children for pornography. Children are no longer safe, not even from parents, uncles, aunts or strangers. Some of the abusers are even men who are already married to many women.
There are also reports of some parents, under the guise of poverty, who offer their children to some highly placed people in the society in exchange for money. Even law enforcement officers are oftentimes culpable in this dastardly act. Over the past years, there has been an institutional cover-up of all child-sexual abuse cases and the perceived failings of child protection departments. But when it comes to the boys grappling with the trauma of sexual abuse, there has been a deafening silence.
According to Dr Odion, the sexual abuse of the male child has always lived side by side with that of the female child. Partly, this issue is hidden because much of the increased attention to the problems of child sexual abuse was generated by the awareness-raising activities of the feminist movements.
“Most campaigners against sexual abuse in the past have always been women or feminists whose focus are women. While this has undoubtedly been a positive development, it also meant that sexual violence has come to be construed by many as an issue that only affects women and children,” he said.
“In boarding schools, colleges, homes and even worship places, there are so many male children who are exposed to sexual abuse. The limited nature of reportage about it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist,” he emphasised.
A victim who was kidnapped, tortured, drugged and repeatedly raped by his ‘Uncle,’ a term that has been used by children to refer to just about anyone who is either a family friend or a neighbour or any male adult.
After investigations, it was found out that the 11-year-old boy was kidnapped by the ‘uncle’ from his school. The victim was rescued almost lifeless by the spirited effort of Alliance Against Sex Offenders and taken to the hospital. And till now, the criminal violator is still at large, while the police are on his trail.
Does the sudden rise in reports of abuse of the male-child connote an increase in the act itself? Psychologists and social experts do not think so.
“We can only say that people are beginning to speak out more now. And with the proliferation of media institutions and social media, there is more reportage of such abuses now. Male-child sexual abuse has been part of our society for a very long time but people were scared of coming out in the open because of the social stigma and trauma. And we are beginning to see a change because there are now agencies and NGOs that want to help the victims,” said Onate Paul, a lecturer in Sociology.
According to Onate, another reason for lack of information about this group of sexual abuse sufferers has a lot to do with what the law against sexual abuse in Nigeria says.
“In Nigeria, rape has been said to be the worst or most serious kind of sexual assault that could be committed. Section 357 of the Nigerian Criminal Code defines rape as having unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or where the consent was not freely given, or was given as a result of fraudulent misrepresentation. Carnal knowledge under this law, by virtue of Section 6, cannot be completed until penetration is achieved. Therefore, in this context, it is only a man that can be charged for the offence of rape. A woman can therefore not be charged for committing rape upon a man for the above reason that a woman cannot penetrate, as she has no penis, and also because Section 357 spells it out that the offence can only be committed against a woman or girl,” he emphasised.
The parents’ factor
Should parents introduce every adult to their children as an ‘uncle’ or ‘aunty’? Should parents wave their children off when they want to make complaints? Should parents be less concerned about the places their children visit?
These and many more questions are being asked. They are not being asked because people believe parents are the only responsible figures to their children. Even, in some cases, as we have seen, parents are guilty of sexually abusing their own children. But these questions are asked because of the primary position of the parents in the life of the victims of sexual child abuse.
According to Dr Ede Ojo, Senior Medical Consultant at the Behavioral Medicine Unit of Karu General Hospital, Abuja, there are several factors that lead abusers to commit rape or any other form of sexual abuse on children.
“When we attend to cases like that, we tend to look deeply into the abuser and ask questions about the possible responsible factors. Sometimes it has to do with the person’s hormonal imbalance, social pressure, history of abuse as a child, genealogy, constant exposure to an environment that has a history of such offences, inability to woo an adult lover, irresponsibility and poverty and sexual perversion, among other factors,” she explained.
While there are biological factors, Dr Ojo also pointed to the fact that perhaps we have found ourselves in a society that is very tolerant of such crimes, especially with a national legislation that intends to always reduce the age bar for when a child can have a sexual consent with an adult.
Some cultural and religious practices have also been identified as promoting relations that lead people to sexually abuse teenage girls and boys.
Mrs Efe Olasokin, a clinical psychologist at the Karu General Hospital, Abuja, explains that beyond biological, psychological and social dispositions which sometimes lead people to misdirect their emotions, mental disposition is a major factor for child rape.
“I have dealt with sex offenders in this hospital who suffer from serious mental depression, a situation which often makes them feel little or no remorse for their victims. Most times, sexual abusers don’t feel guilty for whatever they have done and as a result, they don’t like to continue with their treatments,” she said.
Consequences faced by sexual abuse victims
What victims of sexual abuse suffer is unimaginable. There are mental, psychological, emotional, biological, physical and social consequences all wrapped in one for a victim to endure.
“I have managed a victim who was raped three times while he was growing up. He was first raped when he was 9 years old, then when he was 11 and 15. These series of incidents made him very unstable and he began to blame himself instead of his abusers. He completely lost his self-esteem, he developed trust issues for everyone, he couldn’t have a working relationship with anyone and of course, he started abusing little boys because he became filled with the relentless need for retaliation,” Mrs Olasokin said.
She emphasised that the implications for a rape victim, whether a boy or girl are many and are not limited to one, and that victims can become withdrawn from the society, violent, or deformed while others can also become psychotic.
Mrs Olasokin also narrated the experience she had with a 9-year-old boy who became psychotic after witnessing the rape of his 10-year-old friend (boy) by an adult male. “If a witness to such an act can become psychotic, one can only imagine the extent of damage that will be done to the direct victim himself,” she added.
Fighting child sexual abuse in Nigeria
According to the many concerned stakeholders, there is an urgent need for government to lead the fight against sex offenders. While there are many NGOs stepping in to protect vulnerable children, the government can form a partnership.
According to Dr Dele Fagbohun, Chief Medical Consultant at Karu General Hospital, Abuja, one of the major deterrents to pervasive sexual abuse is to punish offenders.
“The laws need to be fully enforced against child sexual molesters. People need to be charged and convicted, both the rich and the poor. The problem is that some of these offenders who are highly placed in the society have the ability to bribe their way through the judicial system. But that has to change, if we really want to fight sexual abuse,” he said.
Other important actions that should be taken, according to Dr Fagbohun, include a mass public enlightenment about the menace, and the obliteration of the presumption that child sexual abuse is only targeted at a particular group or gender and the discouragement of some cultural and religious practices that expose children to sexual abuse.
Also, According to Mrs Olasokin, responsible parents should do more by educating their children about sexuality and its abuse and should be able to tell their children what it means to be abused.
“As much as parents should admonish their children to respect older persons, they also need to let their children know that everybody is not an ‘uncle’ or an ‘aunty’ because a child will naturally trust anyone he or she has been introduced to as an uncle or aunty. Parents should also speak more to their children, and should be very observant about certain behavioral changes in their children. Schools should also have programmes that will teach children about sexual harassment in order to discourage some sexual abusers who are also sometimes the teachers. And most importantly, victims should speak out because they can always get help from experts,” she advised.
Olasokin emphasised that one of the things that even traumatises the victims more than the abuse itself is the absence of justice. “When the victims can still see their abusers walk free without any punishment at all, it impacts their psyche in a very negative way, and it compromises their feeling of safety.”
For Onate Paul, the wording of Section 357 of the Nigerian Criminal Code and other related laws should be modified to reflect the fact that penetration (anal or oral) can be done on boys too, and not just on girls. And that older women can also abuse little boys and can penetrate them with their fingers or with other unsafe objects.
He also admonishes the government to ensure an effective process is in place which would always protect the victims from the public, in order to encourage more people to come forward.
Nigeria can take a cue from Indonesia in the area of justice. The Indonesian government has revealed that it will chemically castrate convicted paedophiles as a punishment added to jail terms in an effort to combat the alarming rate of child sex abuse.
Muhammad Prasetyo, the country’s attorney general said the punishment would be authorised soon through a presidential directive, which means it will automatically become law without parliament having to vote on it.
Indonesia is joining a small group of countries that use chemical castration against child sex offenders, including Poland and some states in the USA.
Stakeholders say that while such extreme measures may not come into force in the country for now, more than anything else, sex offenders, irrespective of class, clan or age, should be made to face the full wrath of the law in order to stem the tide.
The stakeholders are also unanimous that all legislations that subject children to sexual abuse should also be repealed because the number of victims with catastrophic damage done to them is increasing everyday.
Children, whether male or female, have a right to their freedom, especially freedom from sexual abuse.
