The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that recent studies show that violence against children in Nigeria has remained alarming.
The Child Protection Manager of UNICEF in Nigeria, Mona Aika disclosed this during the opening of a two-day stakeholders’ forum on ending violence against children in Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.
She said approximately 6 out of 10 children experience one form of physical, sexual, or emotional violence before the age of 18 and only 5 per cent of those who report incidents receive support and services.
“In response to these findings, Nigeria has taken steps to strengthen the capacity of duty-bearers to prevent and respond to violence against children,” she said.
She added that efforts in place through the INSPIRE framework to “The implementation and enforcement of laws, elimination of social norms and values that encourage gender discrimination as well as harmful practices like Female Genital Mutilation and child marriage, creating safe environments, and supporting parents and caregivers.”
In her speech, the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, who cited the earlier study by the National Population Commission, said ending violence against children requires a multifaceted approach with concerted and intentional efforts of all stakeholders, institutions and development partners to address.
She said the Ministry of Justice is fully committed to preventing and punishing violence against children such designating specialised prosecutors to handle cases of violence against girls who were in Boko Haram captivity or violated by them.
In her speech, the Director of the Administration of Criminal Justice and Reform Department (ACJRD) in the ministry, Leticia Ayoola-Daniels said the forum, being a preparatory meeting ahead do the global summit in Bogota, Colombia, would provide an opportunity to review the progress have made and the path towards surmounting the obstacles.
“There is a paradigm shift in ending violence against children because we are determined that we are not going to be only talking the talk but also walking the talk,” she added.
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