By Asiat Meikudi
Maryam Bello is one of the many young girls in Sokoto South, Nigeria who has been subjected to sexual abuse as a result of the prevailed gender based violence in Northern part of the country.
The vulnerability of most Victims like Maryam is a common norm which has declined the immorality in the Northern part. Fue to the prevalence of the perpetration, the twelve years old girl had to resort to the writhing life of early motherhood. Her preparator was released after spending few days with the police’s gaol—a testimony to the normality stance of sexual abuse. The detriments toll mental and emotional effects on her.
“The grief had a mental and emotional toll on my education and changed my life in a drastic way”, she recalls, her words filled with raw agony.
“My family strives hard to undergo a DNA test when the guy rejects the child, holding firmly that the child isn’t his but all prove no avail because of my family’s vulnerability”.
Maryam agitates a trial of justice between her and the perpetrator, the burden of early motherhood and the rejection of the child is a way too much for her. Financial constraint has been the spike of the matter which reinforces her parents in restoring justice to God.
Like Maryam, Chindere was only thirteen years old when she was subjected to sexual violence by a man in his thirties.
The indigene of Oboh Village at Amaeze Local Government of IMO state said the detrimental prick left her completely with mental stigma. People mimicked her with the name of the perpetrator ‘Dan Musa’ . For a young girl of school age like Chindere, the picture is even bleaker as sexual violence is a barrier to accessing education.
“Ever since the incident, I find it difficult to understand what’s taught at school, the memory always keeps reminiscing my brain and I had to flee away to let out my tears,” She said.
“Neighbors who were aware of my plight torment me with the man’s name and loneliness engulf most of my days.”
The scrooge perpetrator did not flings afterward the incident, he went to the extent of threatening to kill her if she revealed what transpired between them.
But being a naive girl with no knowledge of sexual enlightenment, she spewed the beans when intensity became heavy for her. Although the thirties -years -old abuser got arrested, he got scot free after spending a few days in police’s gaol.
Sexual abuse and has become endemic in Nigeria. The United Nations Women said a total of 11,200 rape cases, including children who were raped to death, were reported in Nigeria in 2020. And about 43.5 per cent of female children were given out in early marriages, 18.4 per cent suffered from female genital mutilation while 17.4 per cent suffered from lifetime physical or secular intimate partner violence.
Meanwhile, According to the National Gender-based violence (GBV), sexual abuse has been on the rise lately in Nigeria’s Northwest, with little or no convictions.
As of Sept. 2021, only 15 out of 4,436 reported cases of sexual and gender based violence have been convicted across the country, including Sokoto.
An Initiative to the Rescue
Save the Child Initiative began as a non-governmental organization (NGO) on August 27, 2001, providing surveillance, support and justice to the survivors of sexual and gender based violence in all over Nigeria, specifically its stance in Sokoto south and North.
The initiative response to humanitarian service like the prevalent of sexual violence in Nigeria. Before now, there is no document in the court to prosecute perpetrators of sexual abuse but this was ceased when Sokoto state domesticated Child Right Act in 2021.
Gender-based violence knows no boundaries. Any girl or woman can be affected and the problem can be most acute in places where women have less social and economic power, or where laws protecting them are not enforced.
However, ‘Save the child Initiative, STCI ‘ has so far managed over 456 cases of violence in any forms and ramifications. Due to the enormous services, the organization collaborate with a networking team of professions; the local vigilantee, security personnel, local Government workers , NURTW, Nurses, Doctors to monitoring and reporting cases of sexual violence in the community of Sokoto South and North.
According to the Program Officer, Mr Animashaun Sunday Mathiew, the efforts and stance to which the initiative has been tendering its services is free.
He said, “We’ve been trying to sensitize victims and people on the need to voice out their predicament and seek for justice. Even though, culture and traditions of people play a major role in silencing people over this perpetration as it keeps declining. The initiative has sought to exhibit awareness and free services to victims by collaborating with the traditional and religious leaders to change the narrative.”
He further said that the Sultanate Council of Sokoto state had given their support and affirment to the Initiative as to cease the ominous act.
The objectives of ‘Save the Child Initiative’ surge toward recede the longstand prevalence of sexual violence and any forms of violence against women and girls especially children, they sensitize people in the community and Sokoto state in generally, such as carrying out amenities campaign, advocacy visit, peer review, GFG, a progam designed mainly for sensitizing girls at risk of early marriage.
Voicing Out Helps
Maryam comes to know about the Initiative through a friend who referred her to STCI after hearing her heartedly story.
The Burden of nursing a child with her immaturity level of enlightenment is a wreck on Maryam, how she birthed the child still remains a mystery she can’t explain. Ever since her delivery, the burden has aggravated to level beyond her power.
“Although my parents are trying their best to ameliorate the hardships by taking care of me and the child, things remain stagnant for us”.
However, the Initiative appears as a savior and supporter in her life. Both financial, medical and material assistance have been provided to her and the child by the initiative.
“Preference is given to my child and I’ve been triggered to continue my education after weaning the child”, she chipped with great ecstasy.
Taoheed Adegbite, a Gender justice advocate and founder of Track GBV Nigeria, said the nemesis of the abuse affects the victims psychologically viciously, subjecting them to depression and loneliness which triggers the cultural norm of silence and timidation.
“I’ve encountered victims of one form of violence or another. I could imagine the psychological effects of it. And how long it takes many of them to heal because of how the system traumatized them with delay in getting justice. But they don’t need our sympathy. We just have to imagine who might be next and act fast.”
He further attest to the prevalence of the act among children, emphasizing critically the menace it navigates on minors.
“GBV in its real sense is criminal. But it’s more criminal and devilish when it involves minors . Which is paedophilia. That’s not to dispute the fact that GBV is still prevalent, but to tell you we’re getting there. More needs to be on implementation and harmonization of its provisions with existing laws that it meant to complement,” he said.
Obstacles of the Way
Speaking with Mr Rabiu Bello Gandi, the head of Migration, Mobility and Protection, STCI Nigeria, he expressed the challenges
which organisation has been battling with in Sokoto, adding that ignorance exhibited by parents of survivors due to their illiteracy. The extirpate is attached to the norms of the society which has given room for the prevalence and dominance.
Violence against women is often fueled by long standing social and cultural norms that reinforce its acceptability in society by both men and women.
He said, “parent of the survivors of sexual violence usually resort the scorn to fate of destiny and this has aggravate the prevalence to high stance among the people”
And most Victims are afraid of being stigmatized at very sensitive cases, henceforth they withdraw cases to avoid being stigmatized, intimidated or shy.
“Also, financial constraint plays a crucial part in the rendering of services to the survivors. When funds to the Initiative are low, survivors will be reluctant to come out so far providing financial and mental Support are the key objectives of the Initiative,” he added.