Stakeholders in the prevention of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence have raised the alarm over an increase in the reporting of sexual abuse against male children in the country.
The group also called for meticulous action in tackling what they described as a growing trend before it turned into a monster.
The call was made at the stakeholders’ workshop on Integrated Response To Advancing Justice And Accountability for SGBV in Lagos State held on Thursday.
The convener, Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, said attention had been on girls and women while the male gender was also going through similar experiences.
Effah-Chukwuma, who doubles as the Executive Director of Project Alert on Violence Against Women said, “We have seen increased reporting in sexual violence against the male child of which we were not getting before; cases of little boys being sexually abused.
“When we are talking about sexual and gender-based abuse, most times, the victims are women and young girls. We should not be blind to the fact that men and young boys are also going through it. The way things are going, there is a lot of sexual violation against the boys going on, not to talk of even men in their homes. When there is a problem and it is not being tackled meticulously, there is a tendency that the problem will be maturing.
“We are hearing about cases of men being killed in their homes, we have it. That is why the we are talking with the Lagos State Government that despite the existing laws, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act at the federal level is more encompassing and expands the definition of rape from the penetration of the virginal to any orifice which includes the anus, ear and the nose and that is what covers boys. We can’t joke with these things because the more we treat them with kid gloves, the more the monster grows.”
She added that the focus of the project, which seeks to adopt the use of a mobile application, would enhance response to reported cases of sexual and gender-based violence in Lagos.
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“There is still a whole lot to do in that regard because we still see and hear victims say we leave it to God. When a victim makes such a statement, that is not the first choice. It is because they are frustrated and tired. So, we look at the victims’ experiences at the police station. What is the time frame from reporting to response to moving it to the DPP’s office? When does it get to court and how long does it take? So, that is why this project is called integrates response,” she added.
The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said lack of evidence for prosecution and delay in assigning cases to court were part of the challenges of access to justice.
Vivour-Adeniyi who was represented by head of case and management department of the agency, Tunmininu Oni, also advocated for the empowerment of SGBV survivors
The Executive Director of the Open Society on Justice Reform Project, Samuel Akpologun, said cases of abuse against the male gender had reached its crescendo.
He said, “We are having an increase in reporting. It may not be in the media for so long but this is true because we have been in the background getting information. Although it started spiking about five to six years ago, it was steadily increasing, but, now it has reached to a crescendo point where everybody is becoming aware, including the media.”
The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Kazeem Alogba, said a number of perpetrators of sexual violence no longer regret their actions while advocating the need to hold them accountable.
Alogba who was represented by Justice Rahaman Oshodi of the Lagos High Court said, “If victims come forward to report, the investigators will do their work and the prosecutors will do their work. I believe that the concerted efforts, then the audacity will be managed to an extent in society.
But if the crimes are not reported, there is a likelihood that there will be a repeat offence. That is why we read in the newspaper how this crime is prevalent in society. We must make efforts to ensure that each case is investigated, each offender is brought to justice and that way, we can reduce its prevalence.”
