''I just want him to die in prison because of what he did to me''.
Those were the words of an 8-year old girl from Southern Nigerian who was
sexually abused numerous times by Larry, her neighbour. She is currently battling
infections in a recent case of sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse is a form of child
abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation or
activity.
Child sexual abuse has become one of the major health and human right
challenges in Nigeria. Cases of child sexual abuse have increased drastically over
the years. The National Demographic and Health Survey observed that cases of
sexual abuse reported to law enforcement agencies in Nigeria are far less than
the unreported cases. In 2013, the News Agency of Nigeria reported that over
1,200 girls were raped in Cross River and most of them were underage. Lagos has
reported 12,200 cases of rape in the last 3 years, minors being the major victims.
Reports also show that only a few cases of rape receive diligent prosecution.
Child sexual abuse, one of the ravages of society, has numerous and often fatal
consequences on the victims as the victims could be very young (Lagos State
Police recently indicted a man for the rape of his two daughters, aged 4 and 6).
Some of these children are exposed to sexually transmitted disease such as
HIV/AIDS (In July 2015, a retired soldier was found guilty of raping his 10-year old
stepdaughter and infecting her with HIV). Also, childhood sexual abuse has led to
cases of depression, self-blame, eating disorders, anxiety, dissociative behaviours,
repression, denial, and destructive sexual and relational behaviours.
Post-traumatic stress disorder has also been reported. Visiting a therapist should
be the second step in treating a child who has been sexually abused, but
therapists seem to be lacking in Nigeria.
On June 3rd, 2015, the Nigerian Senate approved life sentences for rape of
children aged 11 or less. This raised outcry from respectable members of the
public who insinuated that the age should be 18 years and not 11 years. The point
is we all know how the Nigeria legal system is, and that these sentences are not really carried out.
In Lagos, 3,083 sex offenders were asked to engage in community service as a form of punishment in an attempt to decongest the prison environment. This can only be described as a travesty of justice. The life sentence imposed on offenders seems not to be stringent enough as the cases of child sex abuse have failed to drop but have, rather, risen in the past few months. The violation of an underage child is a monstrous and murderous act and should be treated as such. These children are supposedly the leaders of tomorrow and yet the state cannot provide adequate security, or appropriate punishment.
In 2009, Rachael (not her real name), aged 11, was gang-raped by two of her neighbours and left unconscious. The case was tried in the court and the men were imprisoned. It was a hellish time for her and her family as she spent weeks in the hospital trying to recover. The worst happened when her doctor announced to her mother that she would never be able to have children or even engage in intercourse without immense pain. For two years, she constantly had nightmares and suffered from severe insomnia. It was a time she wanted to forget forever. Despite all these pains, she was able to reasonably rise above it all and lead a normal live, finally ready to put the past behind her. That was until October 2014. As she was walking through the streets of her neighbourhood, she saw him; one of the men who had raped her. Instead of remorse or regret, what was etched on his face as she walked by him was a smile of mockery. Since then, her nightmares have returned, and the fact that the people who ruined her life are walking the streets hurts her every time she thinks about it. I wasn’t shocked when she said she wished the police had killed them instead; not necessarily because of what they did to her, for she probably would have forgiven them with time, but for the countless young girls out there who are at risk.
''I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid. What is more, those who choose not to empathise enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.” – J. K. RowlingThose are the immortal words of one of the most beautiful minds to ever walk the earth. Anyone with a soul should not find it difficult to relate to the adversities of these young girls. The fact that even inmates ostracize child molesters in prison goes a long way to show how obscene this act of violence really is. For this reason and many more, I, Samuel O. Okotie, would like to propose the death penalty for all those found guilty of child sexual abuse. Only when drastic measures are taken, can one expect to have drastic changes. The case of child sexual abuse will continue to increase in Nigeria unless the legislature sits now and make a choice; prison or death. For me I’ll choose death for them because they deserve it.
Author: Samuel O. Okotie for Eric Mbogu's Blog.
