The international day for the girl child

On December 19th 2011 the United Nations

General Assembly adopted resolution 66/117
to declare

11th of October as International day for the girl

child to recognize girls rights and the unique
challenges girls face all around the world.

Who is a child?

On the 20th of November 1989 the General

Assembly of the United Nations had a
convention to determine the rights of the child.
To do this they had to first agree on what the
definition of a child would be

So it was agreed all over the world that a child

is defined as every human being below the age
of 18, So a girl child will be every female
below the age of 18.

The International Day of the Girl Child focuses

on the need to address the challenges girls
face and to promote empowerment and
fulfillment of their human rights.
Child Abuse

Any act or failure to act on the part of a parent

or caregiver which results in death, serious
physical or emotional harm, or sexual abuse of
a child.

Statistics

Unicef reported in 2015 that 1 in 4 girls will be

sexually abused before they turn 18 years old,
however by 2023 the statistics now show 1 in 3
girls will be sexually abused before 18, the
female child between the ages of 16 to 19 are
4 times more likely than the general population
to be victims of defilment, rape, attempted rape
or sexual abuse,

Sexual abuse of children is the ‘involvement of

a child in sexual activity that he or she does not
understand, cannot give informed consent to,
or for which the child is not developmentally
prepared, or that violates the laws or social
taboos of society.
Adverse physical and psychological
consequences of CSA include physical trauma,
acquisition of sexually transmitted infections
including HIV, teenage pregnancy and its
associated adverse sequelae, development of
anti-social behavior, and inability to have a
satisfying sexual relationship in the future
Six out of every 10 children experience some
form of violence – one in four girls and 10 per
cent of boys have been victims of sexual
violence. Of the children who reported
violence, fewer than five out of a 100 received
any form of support.

The drivers of violence against children (VAC)

are rooted in social norms, including around
the use of violent discipline, violence against
women and community beliefs about
witchcraft, all of which increase children’s
vulnerability.

Nigeria has the largest number of child brides

in Africa with more than 23 million girls and
women who were married as children, most of
them from poor and rural communities.
Nigeria’s rapid population growth means that
the number of child brides will in fact increase
by more than one million by 2030 and double
by 2050.

abuse before the age of 18, with half

experiencing physical violence. Abuse has also
occurred in religious settings such as within
 Protestant denominations and amongst
Muslims that practice polygamy.[8]

1. Studies conducted in Nigeria disclose that

young girls are victims in majority of reported
sexual assault cases in hospitals.
A 4 year review of sexual assault cases at
LASUTH That began in 2008 and ended in
December 2012 showed that out of 287
reported cases of sexual assault 83% of the
victims were below the age of 19.

A 1 year survey conducted at Enugu State

University Teaching hospital between 2012
and 2013 reveal that 70% of sexual assault
victims were under the age of 18 and the
survey shows that majority of the victims knew
their perpetrators and the assault occurred
inside uncompleted buildings or the
victims/perpetrators residence.

The most critical age for the girl child is

between 0 to 5, 9 to 14 and 16 - 19 where they
are 4 times more likely than any age to be
defiled, raped or sexually abused in their
lifetime.

90% of child sexual abuse victims know the

perpetrator in some way while currently 70%
are abused by a family member, so the girl
child is more likely to be defiled inside her own
home than anywhere else.

So here is my problem, how mothers and

fathers don't know that their children have been
defiled and they live in the same house, even
when the signs are obvious and trauma
visible?

Almost every month I get a call from teachers

asking how to tell a mother or Parent that the
child has been defiled, not in the school but the
child told their teacher but is begging the
the teacher not to tell her parents, how do
children prefer telling outsiders if they have
been sexually assaulted than their own family.

Most children become victims of abuse and

neglect at 18 months or younger.

Abused and neglected children are 11 times

more likely to engage in criminal behavior as
an adult.

About 80% of 21-year-olds who were abused

as children met criteria for at least one
psychological disorder.

46% of all women in prison were abused as

children.

Abused female children are less likely to

practice safe sex, putting them at greater risk
for STDs also 25% more likely to experience
teen pregnancy.

For every incident of child abuse or neglect

that’s reported, an estimated two incidents
go unreported.
Child abuse occurs across all socioeconomic
levels, ethnic and cultural lines, and religions
and education levels.

Effects of Gender Based Violence

According to the World Bank gender data

portal, it Causes lifelong damages to women
affecting the physical mental
sexual and reproductive health.

Chronic pain, gastrointestinal illness,

gynecological problem, substance abuse And
sexually transmitted infections.

Victims are 3 times more likely to experience

major depressive episodes as adults

Victims are 4 times more likely to develop

symptoms of drug and substance abuse

Victims are 4 times more likely to suffer PTSD

as adults.

Thoughts of suicide, sleeping disorders, eating

disorders, anxiety, isolation.

A total of 15 participants aged from 19 to 35 yrs

participated in the study the psychosocial
experiences of gender-based violence with
depression, worthlessness, socialization and
unguard directed towards children

What Next.
Justice and legislation, as we may not be able
to help victims but move to help future victims.

Documentaries and Support platforms where

victims are able to speak out without fear or
judgement.

The main cause of GBV is Gender inequality,

norms and
beliefs that violence against women and girls
are acceptable.

On the 19th April 2023, I initiated a

demonstration and was joined by the NBA
Lagos, Ikeja, and Ikorodu branches, Fida
Lagos and Ikorodu branches, The body of vice
chairman of the NBA, national orientation
agency, Duties solicitor's network, anti-
trafficking lagos hub, stop the abuse
foundation, legal aid, city of peace initiative,
awareness against domestic violence and
abuse initiative, Hope alive educational center,
Who all came out in the rain to support this
demonstration to the office of the
commissioner of police the office of the
Attorney General of legos state, office of the
chief judge and the office of the governor of
Lagos state and the speaker of the house of
assembly.

Neglect.

Neglect, the most widespread form of child

abuse, makes up more than 59% of
abuse cases.
Failure to act is called neglect (negligence)
Which is when a parent or guardian Fails to do
what they need to do to take care of the child.
Neglect simply means failure to act.
The difference between abuse and neglect is
that abuse causes bodily harm while neglect is
failure to act or protect a child.

Physical Neglect happens when a parent or a

caregiver does
not provide for a child Basic needs like food,
housing, clothes.

Medical neglect or cause when a parent or

care-giver Denies a child of medical attention
when the child is sick or Expose to dangers
that can cause injuries

Educational neglect failure of a parent or care

giver to provide a child with education.

Emotional neglect when apparent and close

family members do not respond to the
emotional needs children suffer from.

When the parent OK giver does not spend

enough time with the child leaving the child
emotionally Ito cure continuous emotional
neglect of a chi'll be mixed the child stop
seeking help from parents
The Boy Child.

National Crime Records Bureau statistics for

2018 recorded 21,605 child rapes, out of which
204 were of boys. UNICEF in its 2015 report
also stated that one in four girls and one in 10
boys in Nigeria experienced sexual abuse.

I wonder how many people are aware of the

fact that there is
an International Day of the Boy Child? Perhaps
we are all obsessed with protecting our
daughters that our focuses have always been
on the “girl child”. But there is an International
Day of the Boy Child. It is the 16th of May
every year. It was officially adopted by the
United Nations in 2018, which was five years
ago.
This is not to compete with the girl child but to
also include the boy child in protection.

What are the challenges of the boy child in

Nigeria?

The challenges identified include lack of

guidance and counseling, negative parental
attitude, child labour, poverty, weak family
institutions, corporal punishment and drug
abuse, Other challenges included allure to
easy money which led boys to join criminal
gangs and to engage in criminal activities.

Problems the boy child goes through in

education?

At school, by almost every metric, boys of all

ages are doing worse than girls. They
are disciplined and diagnosed with learning
disabilities at higher rates, their grades and test
scores are lower, and they're less likely to
graduate from high school (Owens, J.,
Sociology of Education, Vol. 89, No.1 Apr
2023)