Violence Against Children

Violence Against Children

The welfare of the child has often time's aroused global interest and commitment because children are the future leaders of any society. It is in view of the position of children as future leaders that the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed into law the Child's Right Act 2003, Act No. 26, to provide and protect the rights of Nigerian children from abuse (F.R.N.2003) However, Child abuse has continued unabated in Nigeria in spite of the efforts of government and non-governmental organizations to protect children from abuse.

Around the world children are being abused, beaten, violated and exploited. For NGOs working to protect children from such violence, urgent action is needed. The Working Group on Children and Violence aims to promote action that will prompt violence prevention strategies and protect children who are vulnerable. In particular the Working Group focuses on the framework provided by the CRC and works towards the implementation of this instrument as a legal obligation for governments and as a core protection tool for children.

        Child abuse is defined as mistreatment of the child, which may involve physical, sexual or psychological harm, (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000).

        According to Khatric (2000), child abuse is an act or failure to act on the part of a parent, or caregiver which leads to physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or any act of failure to act which involves imminent risk of serious harm. FGN/UNICEF (2001) defines child-abuse as a situation in which a child is suffering from serious physical injury inflicted by an adult which is not accidental; is suffering harm by reason of neglect, malnutrition and sexual abuse, and or goes without necessary basic facilities, or is growing up under conditions which threaten her physical and emotional survival. Fryer (1990) maintains that child abuse is a crime and cut across all cultures, social classes and religion. Children are dependent on the adults for care, love, and protection but many a times; some adults misuse their position and authority on the child. An abused child is often burdened with a lot of tasks and responsibilities beyond his or her age. The child is pressurized, subjugated, enslaved, and over-punished for any little offence. The child is also neglected and lacks the necessities of life. Child abuse and neglect has become a pervasive phenomena which raises the concern of well-meaning individuals, educators, government and non-governmental organizations.

        Over the years issues about the girl-child have taken the front burner in many countries of the world. The Phenomenal concern given to girl-child related matters is informed by the discrimination, oppression, and abuse suffered by the girl-child. According to Abok (2009: 119). "Girl –child abuse entails all acts of commission or omission that hamper the physical, mental, social, spiritual and moral development of the girl-child". In Nigeria the girl-child has continued to suffer intense abuse despite the fact that Nigeria has enacted the Child's Right Act. The prevalence of girl-child abuse could have accrued from the negative attitude of parents towards the girl-child. Many parents in Africa, and in Nigeria in particular give preferential treatment to boys, especially in matters concerning education. Eze (2008) states that the girl-child suffers abuse and neglect more than her male counterparts. The 1984 Universal Declaration of Human Rights maintains that every person has a right to education, the girl child inclusive. However, Eze (2008), laments that this declaration is yet to turn into any meaningful action in most parts of Nigeria. Girl-child abuse, no doubt is limiting Nigerian girls from developing their potentials. A large number of girl-children, due to abuse and neglect, are being denied quality education,  which is the only sure way they can develop their potentials, become economically empowered and meaningfully contributed to the development of the country. This paper therefore looks into the facets of girl child abuse and their educational implications.

FORMS OFABUSE

Physical Abuse: Physical abuse of the girl-child involves torturing the child in order to inflict body pain or injury. Ugbong and Iferi (2004) see physical abuse as non-accidental injury to a child by a caregiver. Physical abuse of the girl-child can take the form of the following: beating, punching, slapping, kicking, choking, mutilation, hair pulling, burning, or scalding. According to Kemp, Pilliter, and Brown (1989), physical abuse on a child and a girl-child in particular also involves deprivation of necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, supervision, medical care, and education. In this case, the parent or guardian refuses to provide the girl-child with basic needs of life. In African countries and in Nigeria in particular, most often, the girl-child is battered by her parents or guardians thereby inflicting serious physical injury that can leave the child with permanent disability which will adversely affect her education. Some girl-children have been inflicted with spinal cord injury and brain injury as well as made deaf, blind, and crippled due to physical injury caused by parents and guardians.

Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse of the girl-child is a well known phenomenon in the world today. Sexual abuse refers to commission of any sexual act by an adult against a child. It also refers to non-consensual sexual contact between a child and a peer. According to Population Report (2001) though both girls and boys can be victims of sexual abuse, the girl-child suffers sexual abuse more than her male counterparts. UNICEF (2001) estimates that about one million children world-wide, mostly girls are under - going various forms of sexual abuse and exploitation. Sexual abuse, unlike other forms of abuse carries a stigma accounting for many unreported cases.

        Related to sexual abuse is girl-child pornography. This involves making the girl-child watch or take part in producing pornographic films and photographs. Another form of sexual abuse is girl-child prostitution. Hodges, (2001) states that child prostitution has become rampart in many Nigerian cities. The problem of child-trafficking has increased the rate of girl-child prostitution in Nigeria. Sexual abuse exposes the girl-child to all forms of sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea and HIV/AIDS. Sexual abuse has devastating effects on the health, psych and social life of the girl-child which can inhibit learning in school.

        Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse is the failure of a caregiver, parents or guardian to meet a girl-child's need for affection, attention and emotional development. It could also be seen as attempt by a parent or guardian to impair or destroy a child's mental or emotional state (Ubong and Iferi 2004). Emotional abuse, otherwise known as psychological abuse of the girl-child includes acts or omissions by caregiver, parents or guardian which are capable of causing serious emotional or mental disorder. Examples of emotional abuse include; Verbal abuse or insult, taunting, lack of praise or compliment, threatening, ignoring, intimidation, humiliation, terrorizing, use of derogatory language on the girl-child. Ugoji (2004) maintains that although the scars of emotional abuse are not visible to the eye, it inflicts wounds that leave a mark for a life time.   Emotional abuse of a girl-child negatively interferes with her mental health and social development. A girl-child who is abused emotionally could exhibit the following behaviors: depression, hostility, apathy, fear, inferiority complex, psychological disorder, and lack of concentration.

        Child-Labor: Child-labor is exploitative work which a child engage by force, which is above his/her age, and is detrimental to his or her health and education. Kembe (2003) states that child labor implies subjecting a child unnecessarily to long hours of work for low wages under hazardous working condition. Child labor entails engaging a child on a regular work that is strenuous, harmful, abusive, and unduly prolonged.

        The girl-child is often time a victim of child labor. It is a common scene in urban and rural area around the world.  To see the girl-child hawking from morning till dusk and used as house maids who does virtually all the strenuous domestic work. Even when the girl-child lives with her parents, most of the chores are done by the girl –child. The girl-child in many homes in prematurely assumes adult roles to the child's detriment. Girl-child labor undermines, disrupts, and jeopardizes her chances of smooth and sound physical, social and educational development.

        Early Marriage: One of the global social problems is early marriage. UNICEF (2005) defines early marriage as formal or informal union in which a girl lives with a partner as if married before the age of 18. Child marriage involves either one being a child or both spouses being children and may take place with or without formal registration, and under civil, religious or customary laws. Although both boys and girls can be victims of early childhood marriage, the worst victim is the girl-child, who sometimes is betrothed while yet unborn. Early childhood marriage is a form of child abuse because it deprives the child her fundamental right (UNICEF 2001). The girl-child forced into early marriage is robbed of her childhood life of being cared for and made to take on adult roles of home-making for which she is not psychologically, physically, and financially prepared. Marriage, worldwide is regarded as a moment of celebration and a mile stone in adult life, but sadly the practice of early marriage gives no such cause for celebration. Too often, the girl-child, is forced into early marriage without taking cognizance of the full physical, emotional and financial maturity she needs to cope with such an arduous task of building a home. The consequences of early marriage on the girl-child are enormous. They include; high maternal mortality and mobility; little or no formal education, increased risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and  vesico-vagina fistula (VVF).

Physical Neglect: Physical neglect involves not providing adequate food, clothing, medical care, supervision and protection for the child. Physical neglect also comes in form of culture that is anti-female child. In many countries cultures, the girl-child does not have right of inheritance in her father's house. In event of death of a father, the girl-child is exposed to economic and material deprivation and marginalization.

Educational Neglect: This involves failure to send the girl-child to school or provide non-formal training for the child. According to Offorma (2010: 13), "Millions of girls do not have access to school despite the concerted efforts to push the cause forward". The girl-child is generally not valued in most African countries. Their education is seen as a waste and that which ends in the kitchen (Mbah, 2010). The little or no value attached to the girl-child explains why she is educationally neglected and sent out as housemaids, hawkers, street beggars and prostitutes to make money for her parents and guardians. When she is sent to school, some parents and guardians neglect the provision of educational materials and the payment of the girl-child's school fees. This could lead to her dropping out of school eventually.

Psychological/ Emotional Neglect: One of the needs of every individual as stipulated by Maslow in Onyechi (1987) is the need for love, affection, and belongingness. This need when met, helps to build an individual psychologically and emotionally, thereby equipping one to face life with positive attitude. Unfortunately, many girl-children are denied love, acceptance and affection. It is heart rendering that some girl-children suffer neglect and rejection right from birth. Some men abandon their wives and babies in the hospital when they learnt that their wives have given birth to female babies. Ubon (2004) affirms that in African culture, a male-child is preferred to a female child, hence, a woman who consistently gives birth to female children could be hated and abandoned with her female children. This inhumane treatment accounts for a lot of psychological and emotional trauma many girl-children and women experience and which negatively affects their overall development.

                                    

Educational Implications of Girl-Child Abuse and Neglect

        All forms of abuse and neglect of the girl-child have a lot of educational implications which if not properly addressed could be a treat to human capital development of a country.

        A girl-child physically abused could sustain permanent physical disabilities leading to learning difficulties. For instance, the child may end up deaf, blind, have brain or spinal court injury. The central nervous system plays a vital role in human functioning and damage to any part of it has adverse effect on behavior. According to Ejide (2004) some children with neurological problem have been labeled slow learners by their teachers, who are unaware of the significant damage to the brain responsible for the children's poor academic performance. Starr (1998) reports that physical abuse has been linked with Juvenile delinquency and adult criminality. Bee (1995) states that physically abused children become aggressive and violent. Other problems associated with physical abuse include: attempting suicide, anxiety, depression, and poor academic performance (Malinosky, Rummel, and Hanson 1993).

        Sexually abused girl-child could get unwanted pregnancy which will terminate her education. She could contact sexually transmitted diseases which can damage her reproductive organs and even lead to untimely death. According to Sambo (1993) most victims of Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) are young girls between the ages of 10-14 years, and are likely to have little formal education. Other effects of sexual abuse which can adversely affect the education of an abused girl-child include: eating and sleeping disorder, anger, withdrawal, guilt, anxiety, fear, depression, hostility and aggression (Feldman, 1999). According to Omoghene (2008) girls who had been victims of sexual harassment and abuse loose their self esteem, pride, and confidence which in turn affects their psychological state of mind to cope in academic environment.

        Girl-children who are over burdened with labor are usually too weak to face cognitive tasks. Most girl children who are victims of child-labor do not go to school while those of them who are allowed to attend school are often late comers, and sleep in the class during lessons. They lack concentration and usually low achievers academically. Children, educationally abused or neglected turn out illiterates, semi-literates, or school drop-outs. They increase the illiteracy level of the society, thereby jeopardizing the developmental projects of government. Women who were denied formal education are handicapped in assisting their children in academic work at home. Some of such women may not even see the need sending their female children to school, thereby continuing the illiteracy cycle.

Psychologically/ Emotionally abused and neglected child experiences mental disorder and are prone to internalize negative attitude which militate against academic performance (Ejide 2004) Psychological and emotional abuse and neglect inflict devastating invisible wounds and scars on the girl-child, which if not properly healed can last for a life time. Psychological abuse and neglect destroy the girl-child's self-confidence and self-esteem. It affects the child's emotional development resulting in sense of inadequacy, inferiority complex, and worthlessness. A girl-child who is emotionally abused and neglected could lack concentration on cognitive task. Such child could resort to examination malpractice. She is also prone to truancy and other vices such as aggression and violence which make it difficult for her to work in group with other children in school. The problem of girl-child abuse and neglect needs urgent, drastic and global intervention.

SUGGESTIONS FOR REMEDY

1. The people should be enlightened on the problem of girl-child abuse and neglect and the inherent danger it poses to the society.
2. Every form of child abuse and neglect should be reported to the police and the culprits should be prosecuted.
3. School Guidance should assist and encourage abused and neglected children to cope with their studies and over come the psychological and emotional effects of abuse and neglect.
4. Government should provide free and compulsory education for every child.
5. Child Rights Advocacy Program should periodically enlighten parents and guardians on the need to provide the girl-children and wards with adequate care, love, affection, needs, and good upbringing.
6. The School should be child friendly by providing adequate protection for the child from every form of molestation and harassment as well as adequate education facilities and conducive learning environment.
7. Cultural practices which are detrimental to child's physical, emotional, moral, and educational development should be give up.

Child abuse and neglect persist in the world despite the fight against it by the government and non-governmental organizations. The abuse of the child impedes on his/her human right. It also has serious negative effects on her academic performance. Should this scenario continue, the achievement of the Millennium Developmental Goals of year 2020 may be a mirage? The government, the parents, the school and the general public all have roles to play to curb this menace. More serious sanction should be placed on girl-child abusers.