Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has accused some parents of aiding rape against their children, knowingly or otherwise.
The Agency said it has observed that many parents are pay less attention or take for granted some of the things that encourage sexual violation of their female children.
It frowned at the practice of providing and allowing their children unchecked access to sophisticated and internet enabled smart phones which, most often, exposed the children to world.
In addition to that, it said many parents are not friends with their kids and does not allow provide friendly atmosphere that encourage their children to speak and express themselves freely.
Director General of NAPTIP Julie Okah-Donli told journalists in Abuja on Wednesday said the cases of rape as being reported is becoming alarming, soliciting the support of parents and victims to report cases in the state they were raped in order to get justice.
She said: ‘Many parents feel free to leave their female children with drivers, housemaids, uncles and other family members with a regular checks and close observations. Evidently, 90 percent of reported rape cases are done by close family members including the father (incest).
‘It’s important that parents shouldn’t allow their daughters to sit on the lap of one uncle or family member, or be touched carelessly, or be called ‘my wife’ or ‘my husband’. That’s how it starts. Some men are bisexual too. They sleep with boys even when they have wives at home.’
She said that NAPTIP has developed a template for procedural response for victims of rape and their families in the event of crime of rape.
‘The victim should not bath and should not change clothes; if condom was used, the victim should collect it for evidence and not destroy it, and most importantly, go to hospital immediately and request to see the doctor’s for a report,’ she highlighted.
Similarly, the NAPTIP boss disclosed that Sokoto state Hisbah recorded over 600 cases of rape in 2019, and about 80 cases of rape was recorded in Anambra State during the lockdown alone and most of them are father-daughter rape (incest).
‘These does not capture the unreported cases of those violated and killed in dark alleys, buried in septic tanks in remote areas yet undiscovered, those cases handled as family issues out of public glare among several others.
‘Since the sexual offenders register became operational last year, it has recorded 78 cases, 51 cases are in court with 12 convictions including a life imprisonment as penalty for rape,’ she said.
Meanwhile, the DG said that NAPTIP had written to state governors with a passionate appeal to resolutely pursue the adoption of the Violence Against Persons (VAP) Act and the Child Rights Act in their domains before it’s too late.
She explained: ‘As at today, only five states have laws against sexual and gender based violence. Lagos and Ekiti are top on the list. This is a clarion call for states to domesticate the VAP Act in their states to deepen the protection of women and children from predators in our society.’
