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THE spate of violence that has continued to blight the lives of African children was in the spotlight Friday June 16 as the world marked this year's Day of the African Child. Currently, violence is an everyday reality for millions of children on the continent and ending it remains an important means for development.
THE spate of violence that has continued to blight the lives of African children was in the spotlight Friday June 16 as the world marked this year's Day of the African Child. Currently, violence is an everyday reality for millions of children on the continent and ending it remains an important means for development.
In a special release to commemorate the day, UNICEF joined the rest of the world to draw attention to the impact of violence against Nigerian children and their contemporaries across the world and to emphasise on what needs to be done to protect their lives
According to the release, every year in Africa, an estimated three million women and girls undergo female genital mutilation, a traditional practice that exposes women and babies to serious risk of death during childbirth.
'In West and Central Africa, thousands of children are trafficked every year. Sexual violence and rape of children appears to be spiralling, inexcusably fuelled by armed conflicts, extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS. In Nigeria, sexual abuse of children often takes place behind closed doors nd is unreported and undetected," says the UNICEF Nigeria Representative Ayalew Abai. 'Figures do not exist, but it does not mean that children are not abused. We also see thousands of children living on the streets of Lagos and other major cities, neglected by their parents or abandoned, exposed to so many hazards and threats."
In his view, the damage wrought is enormous. There is ample evidence that child victims often turn out to be perpetrators of violence. When this happens, very few countries are adequately equipped to reform these child offenders.
This year's Day of the African Child takes on added significance in light of the United Nations' Study on Violence against Children, which is due to be presented to the General Assembly in October 2006. The study will give a detailed global picture and make recommendations on improving laws, policies and programmes to prevent and respond to violence against children.
In Nigeria, initiatives to address violence against children include the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), effective mechanisms for rescuing, rehabilitating and reintegrating child victims of trafficking and prosecuting perpetrators.
UNICEF, in partnership with the National Human Rights Commission and the Nigerian Bar Association, is supporting a Juvenile Justice project, which promotes improved treatment and legal aid for juveniles in conflict with the law.