The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF, has disclosed that six in 10 children in Nigeria suffer one or more forms of violence before they become adults.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by UNICEF’s Nigerian representative, Jean Gough, who also applauded Bayelsa State for its recent adoption of the National Child’s Right Act, joining 22 other states that have done so.
“A national survey by the National Population Commission, supported by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF, launched in September 2015, found that six in 10 children suffer one or more types of violence before they reach the age of 18 years,” Gough said.
He also stated that one in four girls and one in 10 boys experience sexual violence while one in five boys and one in six girls suffer emotional violence. While revealing that many of these victims do not disclose what happens to them, Gough said less than four percent receive the necessary help to recover.
“In response to these findings, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Year of Action to End Violence against Children, calling on states to take action to strengthen their laws, policies and services to protect children. Bayelsa State has heeded the Federal Government’s call and is warmly congratulated,” he noted, adding that the law is important in protecting children.
Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, warned that violators of the child’s right law would face still penalty in accordance with the law.