In Nigeria, one in three women has experienced sexual assault and molestation in one way or another, especially from the ages of twelve to twenty-four, or even younger. It is a sexual act that is committed or attempted by a stronger, or older person without the freely given consent of the victim, or against someone who is unable consent or refuse.
Even infants are not exempted, sadly, as many appalling stories of men assaulting infants have been exposed on the internet over the years.
Click on this link to read more https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8216592/
These assaulters are neighbors, the sons and uncles of relatives, fathers, brothers, stepfathers, bosses at work, extra-moral lesson teachers, mentors, family friends, spiritual leaders…the list is endless.
Unfortunately, the girl child is not safe anywhere.
The girl in her school uniform is being assaulted. The young lady who went for a job interview is not safe. The naïve/gullible girl who visited a boy she likes in his apartment is even at a higher risk. The ones with uncles and family members with lustful eyes are in danger. House helps and helpless girls brought from the “village” to assist in domestic chores are crickets to rabbits in the form of husbands and sons.
Only a few are, as horrible as it sounds, fortunate to have been an attempted sexual assault. They have been scarred with this unfortunate incident for the rest of their lives, which will continue to affect their relationships with the opposite gender, while a lot of others have not been so fortunate.
One, amongst thousands of others, is the story of a young girl in primary school several years ago, who returned home earlier than other pupils because she was sick, and she was told to go home for medical care by her teachers. When she arrived home, her neighbor’s son, who was in senior secondary school and on midterm break at that time, cajoled her into coming to “rest” in their living room before everyone else would get back from school.
She willingly accepted because it sounded like a kind offer, and she didn’t think anything of it because he was just her “neighbor’s son”.
While she lay on the couch, having taken off her school scandals, the neighbor’s son soon joined her on the couch. For some weird reasons, she didn’t think that it was normal, especially as there were other chairs he could have sat on. Then, when she noticed that he was not just squeezing her in the couch, but also being touchy, she got up, took her school scandals, and quietly returned to her house to wait for everyone else to arrive. This neighbor’s son might not have applied pressure, forced her, or even stopped her when she wanted to leave, but she was young and innocent.
Again, that seemed like a fortunate incident for her because it didn’t happen, but there are over hundreds of women who have stories of being nearly assaulted when they were much younger. For a lot of others, they were tragically molested. Some have lost their lives to sexual assault and violence.
Society has taught these girls to keep their voices down to avoid stigmas, heartless taunts, cruel labels, and faulty questions.
There is the mother who is telling her daughter to suck it up and move on because she doesn’t want her future to be tainted: who will marry you? People will never forget, or because the assaulter has higher power, and so fighting or speaking out is already a lost battle.
There is the wife who knows what her promiscuous husband is up to, but she covers him like a shield, and even threatens to take the poor girl back to the “village” if she tells anyone about it, just so that she can preserve her home.
Then, there is the girl who is not believed, or even blamed.
Over time, there have been all sorts of advices, like wear decent clothes, don’t go out with a man you don’t know, don’t visit any boy or man in his room, don’t go clubbing, don’t stay out late, always lock your door, etc, but one wonders, are they the best ways to stop sexual assaults and molestation in the country? How do you protect that girl from her own father? What is the fate of the young lady who was overpowered by a gang of assaulters while hawking on the street?
When do we begin to actually punish the offenders?
Sexual assault is a crime in the country, but a lot of men are walking freely. Some have been arrested, but got bailed. Some have not been caught because their wives are covering up for them, or the family of the girl they molested have been threatened, or maybe compensated into silence. Some have gotten away with it because when these girls and young women take the courage to cry out, fingers and blames are pointed in their direction rather than ensuring that the perpetrators face the law.
Unfortunately, no girl child anywhere is safe.
A lot of these victims have been unable to “move on” from it, which has affected their relationship, while others just carry the weight of the experience with a smile.
The key to ensuring that the girl child is safe is not to lock the doors or keep them from going anywhere. It is to ensure that anyone who as much as attempts sexual assault or molestation, no matter how small or harmless it might seem, is made to face the full wrath of the law, regardless of their position and status in the family and society.
They should be jailed, castrated, exposed, divorced, stigmatized, isolated, and shamed until they have sought help and come to genuine change.
A similar story published on my blog in 2023: https://yourfavstoryteller.org/2023/06/03/clear-signal-or-deceit-boy-and-girl-series/
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“No girl child anywhere is safe”💔
A very sad reality😥
True talk all pepertrator should be punished according to the law. If the pepertrators are punished, others will be scared of to do same thing. For the women who are hiding their husbands don’t forget your daughter is not safe
Unfortunately, those type of women will shield their husbands over their daughters.
Another solution which is overlooked is that, as much as people talk about how the girl child should be trained properly, the male child should also be trained properly. The same effort you put in training a girl child should be given while training a male child. This would ensure we have responsible men in our society rather than wild men.
God bless you for this!!!
They will say it’s a man’s world, so what a girl child says is irrelevant.
Most have been molested, and can’t even tell anyone. They live with it for the rest of their lives.
They cannot say, and it’s very wrong!
Men who engage in the vile act of sexual assaults have not only been enabled by society but also by their fellow men, fathers and role models. Social learning learning in this context inevitable and should be castrated at the slightest form of exhibition.
People are enabling these men!
You’ll be surprised how many girls that have experienced this are around us. Sad.
Most girls😥
Protect the girl child…
At all cost!!!
Female factor are not the only ones affected,..there are also male factors affected by this same predicament
Boys also suffer sexual harassment and it is just sad😥
Hmmm, awareness is key
Yes, it is!
95% of girl child has suffered sexual assault or molestation.
And you won’t even know except they open up and tell you. 😔
A sad reality😥
This is so true. The impact of sexual assault and molestation on victims, particularly girls is so severe in our world today. Ensuring perpetrators face legal consequences can be crucial in preventing further harm. Support systems and resources for victims are also vital in their healing process.
Above all may God keep on protecting our girl and boy child and may all those involved be exposed.
May they be exposed and condemned!
It’s such an unfortunate occurrence that really needs to be curbed.
Really unfortunate.
It’s just so unfortunate. Weirdly, the victims also get the blame.
They get the most blames.
This is reality and a sad one at it.
Not just girl child, but child as well.
Children need to be safe in this cruel world.
We need a based punishment for these demons.
Perpetrators of this acts need to be punished!