By Jude Njoku

THE rate of sexual abuse among young people in schools and churches in Nigeria is increasing at an alarming rate. Lagos which is believed to have the highest prevalence of cases of rape and child abuse, has already embarked upon stern measures to stem this ungodly development.

To complement the efforts of the State, the foremost Christian organisation in the country, the Scripture Union, SU, has called on churches and religious bodies in the country to “rise up and join this holy fight against evil and injustice against our children whom we have a mandate from God to bring up in his fear and nurture”.

Rising occurrence

To give fillip to this call, SU recently launched a book – Sexual Abuse of Young People in Schools and Churches in Lagos State in which it highlighted the rising occurrence of the scourge and its linkage with the increase in cases of HIV/AIDS among children and teenagers.

Director-General of SU in Nigeria, Mr. Odelana Adewale Philips regretted that Nigeria has not been able to deal with several issues hindering the protection of rights of children. “This has led to increasing number of children living on the streets, sexual or immoral abuse of children, children affected by communal conflict, drug abuse and human trafficking,” he said.

Odelana noted that although Nigeria agreed to domesticate the Child Rights Protection Act in 2003, only 16 of the country’s 36 states have passed the Act, leaving the other 20 on the brink of indecision.

The SU DG explained that  a recent study shows  one in six adults said they were sexually abused before the reached the age of 16. According to him, this figure is low because only a quarter of children who have been abused tell any one about it.

“The abuser is usually a family friend, a neighbour, a member of the child’s family or someone working with the child such as school teachers or home lesson teachers; the abuser is rarely a stranger,” he noted.

Reeling out the negative effects on the abused, Odelana said; “Sexual abuse can cause a range of serious mental, health and emotional problems which can have lifelong or in some cases, fatal consequences like suicide attempts”.

He said the 112-page  advocacy book is SU’s efforts to bring the evil of rape and other forms of sexual abuse into the front burner with a view to attracting the attention of those who should make laws to stamp out the ungodly development.

Also speaking at the launch, SU’s National Coordinator, Aid for AIDS and Design for the Family, Pastor Michael Ayodele explained why the group is beaming its searchlight on schools and churches. According to him, incidents of rape and child abuse are most prevalent in schools and churches. “That such evil is occurring in the church is a slap on our face. That it occurs among pastors and church leaders is a worse pain inflicted on our holy God. The church should be in the forefront of this fight to save our children and uphold our testimony,” he said.

Ayodele decried what he saw as the silence or inaction of the church to punish such randy pastors, alleging that it smacks of connivance with evil. “We are saying that the voice of the church should be louder and discipline of culprits should be sterner to deter others from it. The church should enact laws and be seen to enforce them on culprits within its fold,” he said.

He explained that the upsurge in HIV infections among young people of secondary school age, led SU to get involved in its awareness and prevention.

“Our HIV/AIDS prevention programme in Lagos has increased in dimension and depth with the support of the Tearfund Nigeria based in Jos. Since 2007, Tearfund has consistently backed our effort in equipping people especially young people and families with skills that enhance positive living,” he said.