Help to Stop Child Sexual Abuse in Nigeria

Cece Yara Foundation Report for January – April 2020

We began the year 2020 with the setting up of a Child Advocacy Center in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja ensuring that children in the Northern part of Nigeria can access a one-stop response Child Advocacy Centre in dealing with child sexual abuse cases. We also had series of consultative meetings with the police, we hosted them to a learning visit at our Lagos Child Advocacy Centre stressing why it is important the Police adopt child Forensic Interview as best practice in the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases in Nigeria. Plans are ongoing by the police to model our Forensic interview suites at designated police Area Commands and set up a Police statement taking desk at the Child Advocacy Centre. Furthermore, we have received many endorsements for the work we do from our partners - Government organizations. Such as the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) faith-based organization is etc.

The advent of COVID 19 pandemic took everyone by surprise with its attendant spate of lockdowns and associated socio-economic constraints. At CYF, we believe that every crisis has its inherent opportunities that may be exploited for beneficial purpose with the appropriate mindset, through due innovation and proper planning, and that the COVID 19 is no exception, hence the resolve to continue to provide our toll- free 24-hour child helpline managed by fully trained staff who all have experience of listening and providing advice to children and young people. Our Child Helpline lines were accessible to everyone who needed help, advice, and information to report or prevent child sexual abuse. We were able to arrange for emergency interventions for children who were at the risk of being abuse within and outside Lagos State. We were able to aid our clients to document the matter and at the police station and facilitated the arrest of alleged perpetrators, albeit were unable to go ahead with criminal proceedings during the lockdown. We shall, however, start these proceedings once the lockdown is lifted. Our Lead Child Therapist provided telephone/video counselling to children and their non-offending family members to help them overcome abuse even as we adhered to the lockdown as imposed by the government. Having incorporated the requisite precautionary measures, we equipped the majority of our staff to work from home, leaving the few who are to be with the children at the Foundation’s Shelter, of which comprehensive protective measures have been incorporated into its operation strategies. During the period We generated awareness that our Child Helpline was, and still, is as functional as ever to ensure hitch-free responses to issues of abuse during the lockdown, 

We want to say thank to all child protection and healthcare providers who are on the front lines fighting this pandemic in Nigeria and another part of the world. You are our champions,  true heroes taking care of our communities and saving lives every day.  We cannot but say thank to all our teeming supporters for making us relevant at this period.

Engaging the Police to Adopt Child Forensic Interview Our Founder-Trustee, Mrs Bola Tinubu, recently led a high-level team to a meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Lagos Command – Mr Hakeem Odumosu, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police/Head of the Lagos State Criminal Intelligence Investigation Department (SCIID), Panti - Mrs Yetunde Longe, to discuss the adoption of Video-Recorded Child Forensic Interviews as best practice in the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases in Nigeria.  This meeting succeeded in getting the buying in of the Police of the Forensic Interview process as shown by the referral of cases from the police to the Centre for forensic interview of child survivors.

Engaging the Lagos State Ministry of Education  for Effective Child Protection Policy in Lagos State

The Foundation facilitated the setting up of the group - Advocacy Group Technical Group under the Rise up Project. The group held a meeting on the 25^th January to review the tools used by the Department of Quality Assurance, Lagos State Ministry of Education, for ensuring effective implementation of child protection policy in schools.  Members reviewed the tool and were able to produce more checklist that prospective proprietors must put in place before the schools get governmental approval.  As a result of effective collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Foundation was granted approval to conduct the training on prevention of child sexual abuse in schools.

Child Helpline

Till date the child helpline has recorded 14,560 calls from August 2016 till date which include calls by children and adults from all the 36 states of Nigeria.

Cece Yara Adult Child Protection Awareness Prevention Program

Our Adult Awareness Creation Program, which started in 2019, has empowered 3000 Adults- community stakeholders (i.e. traditional, religious, and community-based organization’s) and education professionals. During this period, we have empowered above 200 Adults.

The Safe kids Awareness Program

Before the lockdown, about 2335 children were trained between January and February 2020.  Till date, the Foundation,

Till date, 32,126 children from 101 child-centred institutions across 14 LGA’s in Lagos State have been empowered by being equipped with safety skills, knowledge on recognizing sexual abuse, how to get help, and how to be assertive about body boundaries. There is no limit to the location of the awareness program; some of the locations included Badagry, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Ikeja, Apapa, Festac and Ikeja

 Our Child-Friendly Shelter

We are happy to say that despite the COVID 19 Pandemic, the Shelter is still functioning providing the needed interventions for children that need to be urgently moved to a safe space providing them with therapy to help them heal and live a healthy life. During this period, children were referred to the Shelter from the family court and other government agencies. Till date, our child-friendly shelter has provided a temporary home for over 22 children who need to be urgently removed from offending environments.

Feedback from Our Clients

A knight of the Catholic Church said “After undergoing your training and watching the video of the Adults survivors who tell their stories, I have never remained the same. I have told myself that I would take every step to prevent child sexual abuse. I am now a committed Active Bystander”.

A pupil, a recipient of our Safe Kid Awareness Prevention Program, called the Cece Yara Child helpline to say, “I want you to go to my sister’s school to teach them about Pant Rules. I learnt from the Mariam video”

Staying steadfast in commitment despite COVID 19 challenge

The Foundation is committed to continually innovate to meet up with her schedule of programs and thus ensure that her ever-expanding services to humanity are not unduly checkmated or threatened by the constraints spawned by the ravaging COVID 19 pandemics. The Foundation intends to consolidate on her already robust service by creatively exploring new avenues to expand the scope of her works.