As the world marks the 2016 Children's Day celebration, human right activists are calling for renewed efforts to end violence against children, reports ITRealms.
They noted that with the theme of this year’s Children’s Day, “Protect the rights
of the child in the face of violence and insecurity: End child marriage” helps
to shed a much needed light on the unprecedented levels of violence against
children in Nigeria in the recent past and present.
In the North East, they acknowledged witnessing and continued to
witness grave violations of children’s rights - killings, abductions, sexual
violence and use in suicide bombings by Boko Haram. More than 1.2 million
children have been displaced - more than half of them below the age of 5.
"However, children living away from the crisis in the
northeast are also at risk of violence," UNICEF in a press statement said.
The Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey
(carried out by the National Population Commission, with the support of UNICEF
and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), launched by Government of
Nigeria in September 2015, highlighted the prevalence of sexual,
physical, and emotional violence suffered by children in Nigeria. The
survey estimates that half of all children in Nigeria experience physical
violence, one in four girls and one in ten boys experience sexual violence and
one in six girls and one in five boys experience emotional violence before they
reach the age of 18 years. Less than 4% get the help they need to
recover.
In response, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the
Year of Action to End Violence Against Children on 15 September
2015, in conjunction with the National Priority Actions, which not only set out
the key actions of national Ministries and Agencies, but also of NGOs,
religious groups and the media. He called upon all States to launch their own
campaigns and every Nigerian to play their part in ending violence against
children.
Progress has been made. Lagos was the first State to heed
the President’s call, launching their own campaign and priority actions in
February 2016. Cross River will be the second in June 2016. Bayelsa State
domesticated the Child Rights Act. Nine States, with funding from USAID and the
European Union, have joined together to develop a model child protection system
in order to translate this essential Act into reality. 12 States will hold
#iMarch4Children marches today to raise societal awareness on the prevalence
and impact of violence against children.
“This year’s Children’s Day offers the opportunity to
highlight the significant pledges made by the Federal Government, NGOs,
religious groups and the media last September to join hands to end violence
against children, and call for renewed efforts by all stakeholders to turn the
commitments they made into action for children”, said Jean Gough,
Representative UNICEF Nigeria.
There is no better time than today to take action. Together,
let’s end violence against children.
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