A Kaduna-based NGO, All Children Charity International Foundation, has attributed the high rate of child abuse in the country to religion and cultural practices.
According to her, people capitalise on cultural and religious beliefs and practices to perpetually keep the children silent when they are being violated.
Daudu said, “Violence against the child is somehow related to cultural practices.
“Children are being violated by elders, but they cannot say anything out of fear and because they are expected to respect their elders.
“It is a good thing to respect elders, but it is becoming part of the extension of violence against children, as elders are taking advantage of that to abuse children.
“Even religion has also been used to keep the child quite.
“A three-year-old girl was raped to death in Kawo, Kaduna, but the parent said no, we won’t prosecute the offender, we leave everything to God. This is a serious cause for concern.”
She said child abuses were on the increase because the violators were getting away with what they were doing.
According to her, the incidence of child abuse was also rampant among the elite in the society.
She commended the United Nation Children’s Fund for its interventions in protecting the right of children, urging communities to join the fight to win the battle.
Daudu also urged parents, teachers, community leaders, religious leaders, civil society organisations and NGOs, among others, to rise up to the challenge.
On domestication of the Child Rights Act, she said the problem was beyond domestication, adding that implementation of the Act is not encouraging.
The executive director said about 23 states had domesticated the law.
“Apart from Lagos, nothing is happening in other states because there are no serious efforts to implement the Act,” Daudu said.
Punch
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