From Scholastica Hir
Sexual Offences Awareness and Response (SOAR), an NGO, has alerted that most communities and families are marrying out sexually violated adolescent girls to their rapists.
The Executive Director SOAR, Chinyere Eyoh, revealed this discovery at a one-day project initiative meeting and stakeholders’ consultative forum on “Mobilising Communities in Emergencies to end Sexual Based Violence Against Girls” project.
The programme was organised by SOAR, Initiative and supported by the African Women’s Development Fund, AWOF.
Speaking at the event, Eyoh, who noted that rape and any other form of sexual violence against girls is a crime against the rights and dignity of a child expressed shock that most communities and families cover up the acts and rather marry off the girls to their rapist or violators just to protect their family names.
“How can you marry off a child to her abuser without thinking of the girl? Rape is a crime and should be frowned upon and perpetrators should be brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others.
“Some of these communities don’t see sexual violence as a crime, the families instead come together to settle among themselves and the perpetrator goes free with prosecution,” she said
Eyoh said SOAR has therefore commenced mobilisation of communities to end sexual violence against girls in Benue state using a human right based perspective to sensitise them.
“So going into communities, we are working with community leaders to adopt a behavioural change through this capacity building to support their systems and structures, create community-based child protection groups and make them stand as Child Rights activists in their various communities.”
Eyoh who noted that the main objectives of SOAR are to advocate against the abuse of children, build the capacity of stakeholders and provide care and support to survivors, said they have also done intervention in schools where they have established over 100 girls’ clubs to give them a voice and capacity to recognise and speak out against sexual violence.
Presenting baseline findings and the humanitarian situation in Benue state, the Executive Facilitator Civil Organisation Research Advocacy and Funding Initiative Development, CORAFID, Nathaniel Awuapila, stated that only about six per cent of children who are victims are able to access care and support.
The findings which noted over 66 per cent of children in Benue no longer feel safe in their communities recommended among other things, the full implementation of child protection and sexual violence prohibition laws in the state.
A presentative of the Benue State Child Right Implementation Committee, (SCRIC), Mr Paul Amokaha, lamented since 2018, Benue has witnessed heightened security situations which have left many, particularly, women and children in vulnerable situations.
He said that SCRIC is not resting on their oars to ensure that the Child’s Right Law which was domesticated in the state in 2008, is implemented.
Also the Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Emmanuel Shior, represented by Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Emergency Management, Gwabo Godwin, Beatrice Shomkey from the United High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR and Amos Uzua from Child protection Network all described sexual violence against girls as a crime and called for collaborative efforts to nip it in the bud.