Joy Shokoya, the Psychosocial Counsellor and Manager of Lagos’ Mirabel Centre, recently shed light on the distressing prevalence of child sexual abuse in Nigeria.
Her discussion covered the psychological and communal consequences of such exploitation, the difficulty in detecting abuse, and the urgent need for protective environments for survivors.
As a guest on the television program Jasiri by News Central, Shokoya commented on the case involving a 4-year-old girl named Sarah, who was victimized by her father. He had shared inappropriate imagery of the young child online, leading to public condemnation and calls for his arrest due to the exploitative nature of the content.
News Central has disclosed that images and videos of the young girl dressed provocatively and posed in a sexually suggestive manner made their rounds on the internet, causing an uproar among the online community.
READ MORE:Nigeria Police Arrest Man for Posting Sensual Content of 4-Year Daughter
Shokoya expressed her sorrow over the incident, deeming it extremely troubling to see such acts normalized within certain communities.
She shared that the Mirabel Centre has encountered over 8,000 survivors in its decade of operation, with children between the ages of 0 and 12 making up 90% of these cases.
Addressing the critical issue of recognizing warning signs of abuse, Shokoya advised that guardians and parents look for behavioral shifts, complaints of pain in genital areas, and emotional alterations in children.
She emphasized the significance of attentive parenting that can unveil crucial details to prevent endangerment to children.
In conclusion, Shokoya exhorted parents and responsible adults to exercise vigilance and to actively oppose child sexual exploitation and the broader issue of child abuse prevalent within the community.
