Oyo State Programme Officer for the Resilient System for Sustainable Health Development/COVID-19 Response Mechanism (RSSH C19-RM) project, Mr Oluseun Adebiyi, has issued a warning that non-verbal and verbal cues, including facial expressions, gestures, and aggressive expressions, can be crucial indicators that should not be ignored because they can occasionally be suggestive of gender-based violence.
He said that parents should be aware of their children’s nonverbal and vocal clues, especially since they have the power to shape their behaviour and demonstrate good moral behaviour.
Speaking at the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) coordination meeting of the RSSH C19-RM project in November, Mr. Adebiyi stated that incidents of children being exposed to drugs or other vices begin at a young age and that watchful parents would easily recognise something bad happening and act promptly.
Mr Adebiyi cited cases of gender-based violence that were identified in the five LGAs in which the RSSH C19-RM project was intervening through community-based organisations.
According to him, “We’ve discovered that a lot of children are facing different kinds of abuse, and if those children were being properly observed by their parents, they would have known that something was happening to them and that they were passing through a particular phase of violence.
“In November, cases of gender violence attended to include the case of an 11-year-old who, because the parent didn’t give her audience whenever she wanted to talk, felt neglected and not loved, resulting in a feeling of being emotionally abused.
“Another 11-year-old girl who was sexually abused by the younger brother of her mother’s husband said that although the incident happened a long time ago and the perpetrator was dead, she is still tormented by the scenario.
“Parents are not observant and much more occupied with fending for the material needs while abandoning the emotional needs of their wards. Children from broken homes need more attention in their upbringing so they do not learn other negative behaviours while growing up. Parents, especially mothers, should be much more sensitive to the emotional needs of their children.”
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He urged Nigerians to also break the cycle of violence by acting against abuse, knowing their rights, breaking their silence if they are victims of abuse, and always supporting efforts to break the cycle of violence wherever they find any victim of abuse.
Head of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in Oyo State, Mr Kayode Alfred declared that violence against a person is much more than physical assault and rape.
He listed other forms of violence people overlook, including stalking, indecent exposure, wilfully making false statements, depriving a person of his or her liberty, and forced isolation/separation from family and friends.
“When you do all that, you can also inflict violence on somebody emotionally and psychologically. So it is not just a physical thing. Apart from our core mandate of human trafficking and carrying out anti-human trafficking activities, NAPTIP also intervenes when it comes to violence and makes referrals to the appropriate agency in charge of prosecution.”
Mr Alfred stated that violence against persons constitutes an offence that attracts various jail terms, including imprisonment for life.
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