Mr.
Ufeli spoke, Sunday, at the 5th edition of ‘The Conversation,’ a quarterly
public dialogue that focuses on child abuses and parenting in Lagos.
“The Nigerian criminal code recommends life
imprisonment for rape convicts and 14 years for attempt rape, but only 18
people have ever been convicted in Nigeria,” said
Mr. Ufeli, who had been handling sexual assault cases for over a decade.
The
lawyer said that sexual abuse matters in law courts are sometimes frustrated
by the government, which usually acts as the prosecution.
“Government agents who are saddled with
checking sexual assaults, especially the police and public prosecutors,
compromise their profession,” Mr.
Ufeli said.
Several
child rights advocates who spoke at the gathering urged parents and guardians
to allow their children, while they are still in their formative years, to be
vocal about sexual matters as a solution to the rising cases of child abuse.
The
advocates also said that the perpetual silence on the issue of child rape had
done a lot to worsen the matter because it “sends
no serious warning to would-be rapists.”
“It’s
high time people started speaking about rape; parents must allow their children
to discuss matters that are sexually-explicit in nature,” said
Itoro Eze-Anaba, who runs the Mirabel Centre, a
rehabilitation facility for victims of child abuses which is run in
collaboration with the Partnership for Justice.
Mrs.
Eze-Anaba noted that rape matters must evolve from being about the victim to
being about the perpetrator.
“A good percentage of those who have been
assaulted have had to face the consequences of their ordeal despite their
innocence,” she said.
Timilehin
Oyebode, a sexual assault victim, said that pedophilia is “a psychological problem that requires only psychological solution”
and that rapists don’t necessarily deserve jail sentence.
“The first step that must be taken in reducing
sexual assaults on children is to support victims to have the courage to openly
speak about their experiences,” said
Ms. Oyebode, the Chief Executive Officer of Attitudinal Development
International, who said she started suffering sexual abuses at age five.
SOURCE: PREMIUM TIMES
SAY "NO" TO RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE - WALK AGAINST RAPE NIGERIA!
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