By Josephine Agbonkhese
For any people- oriented policy or programme to be effective, it must start from the grassroots.

This was the position of Mrs Grace Ketefe, the Executive Director of Cece Yara Foundation, who spoke to newsmen at a campaign programme tagged Community Pledge Against Child Sexual Abuse in Ajegunle, Lagos, which the Foundation organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Domestic Violence Response Team, with the support of UNICEF.

According to Ketefe, “one in 10 boys and four in 10 girls will be defiled by the time they reach 18 years. The projection is 16 million children in Lagos alone and the enormity is further terrifying with the dangers they are exposed to, such as STD, unwanted pregnancy, physical injury, infertility, risky life style, compulsive eating disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, behavioral changes, PTSD, anxiety and propensity to further victimisation in adulthood.

“However, whatever anyone, government or organisation does for the people can only be effective if it begins from the grassroots. That is why we came to Ajegunle and met with fathers, mothers and the Islamic community.

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“If you win their trust and give the assurance that you will respond to reports, the people will reach out to you if there are cases of child sexual abuse.”

While participants took a pledge to prevent and report child sexual abuse, Ketefe noted that of the over 30 cases Cece Yara Foundation had facilitated, they got two judgments and hope to get five more.