Nigeria has increasingly recorded an upsurge in the number of child sexual abuse, especially rape and child defilement. Which has shattered the life of children that serve as victims.

Victim of rape are mostly stigmatized and blamed by society for being responsible for the crime, this makes them recall into their shells and become warry of breaking their silence on their encounters – they painfully bear the pain in silence. Phycologists say the psychological pain cause by child sexual abuse runs deeper than people can fathom and that the pain is unending as victims are scarred which mostly result to their life inveterately shattered. They are subjected to detrimental mental torture, which experts say leads to depression, suicide ideation and deviant behaviours.

In the words of Sonia Okodo, a victim of child sexual abuse and rape, “the invisible wounds from rape are far more devastating and far harder to repair.”  In correlation; Bukola Lameed a phycologist, counsellor and therapist explained that the trauma of rape or child sexual Abuse can be shattering, leaving the victims feeling scarred, ashamed and alone.

The problem is that in Nigeria, the wrong people carry the shame of rape. Even though they are the victims, forgetting to acknowledged that much can be done to fight back and shatter the life of the abusers by veraciously breaking the silence on child sexual abuse and rape. Which can in return save others that are at the risk of becoming a victim. Sonia Okobo, explained how she brutally felt bad about her keeping silence, saying if she could have voiced out her encounter, maybe her cousins and other two kids would have been saved from becoming a victim. So, she decided to advocate against child sexual abuse and rape because she have understood the pain and phycological problems it brings.

In many of the rape cases, children are silenced because no one will listen to them. But time has come for changes to take place and justice can happen when the right people rise to support the children. In a community, we had a mother urging her daughter to let go of rape case, because the rapist’s family wanted to settle out of court. Why disturbs the peace? But other women in the community that serve as an advocate of child abuse and rape heard about this case and said that it was not a single individual’s issue, because they were shown a different perspective on rape and child abuse, they had the confidence to stand by this survivor. They broke the culture of silence, took her case to the police, and demanded a justice. The man was caught and punished. This is what happens when we change mindsets to make child sexual abuse and rape a community issue. Everyone must understand that when we allow victims to be punished and not rapists, entire communities suffer.

Here comes Smile & Shine Children’s Foundation an organization at the fore front of addressing issues of child sexual abuse in Nigeria. We believe that every child has a right to be safe and protected from sexual abuse. And to also heal from its ill effects. TOGETHER WE CAN PREVENT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE.