The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) has called on all stakeholders in Nigerians including family, community, non-governmental organisations, professional bodies and the government to play more decisive roles in protecting children from child abuse, and ensure the punishment of offenders.
This is as the group also urged the government to strengthen the reporting system for cases of child abuse, adding that Child Rights Act should be domesticated in states of the federation where it is yet to be domesticated, saying in states where the Act has been domesticated, it should ensure the full implementation.
This call was made in a statement issued at the end of the 52nd/53rd Scientific Conference and 53rd Annual General Meeting of the Paediatric Association of Nigeria, held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
According to the statement co-signed by PAN President and Secretary, Dr. Olufemi Ogunrinde and Dr. Maria Garba respectively, and made available to THISDAY in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, they advised that nationwide study should be designed and conducted to enhance better understand of the the burden of child abuse in Nigeria.
Parts of the statement read: “Child abuse, also known as child maltreatment, is a global phenomenon. In Nigeria, six out of 10 children experience physical, emotional, or sexual abuse before the age of 18 years.
“Child abuse has serious consequences in the immediate and long term for the child, family, and the country, and it intends to undermine the national security by fuelling banditry, kidnapping and religious intolerance.
“Children are more likely to be abused in settings where there is power imbalance, faulty child abuse reporting system, lack of political will to domesticate the Child Rights Act, fund child protective services and punish offenders.”
The medical group, however, recommended that “the reporting of child abuse should be mandatory by law, and the process protected to secure the identities of the victim and the reporter as well as ensure the successful prosecution of the assailant
