Introduction
The study of the actual and most severe problems of various countries will help in spreading awareness about them. Thus, the more people know about the issue, the more likely it is that action will be taken by the government. Hence, this work aims to study the problem of sexual exploitation of children in Nigeria, which to this day is of quite profound importance and poses a threat to the population of the country. After researching the academic literature, this briefing paper will provide data on what measures are being taken by the government to limit the problem. At the end of the work, policy-relevant recommendations will be provided to improve areas of intervention that could potentially be strengthened. Therefore, this briefing paper will be of particular value for studying the problem of child sexual exploitation in Nigeria and contributing to further research.
Literary Review
The first stage of the study of child sexual exploitation in Nigeria is the analysis of existing literature and reports. Despite the current stage of development of society and the measures taken to reduce organized crime, many countries still cannot cope with some of them. Therefore, the sources show that “in 2018, the average prevalence of sexual abuses in Nigeria was of nine percent and 45 percent of individuals living in the state had experienced sexual violence in their life” (Prevalence of sexual violence in Nigeria in 2018, para. 1). These data show far from satisfactory statistics regarding violent and cruel acts against minors.
It is worth paying more detailed attention to the problem of sexual violence and the exploitation of children and its definition. Additionally, these actions consist of involving a minor in sexual activities without their consent (Ventus, Antfolk, and Salo, 2017). Moreover, in almost all cases, children do not have an understanding of what they are going through and are not mentally prepared for this kind of negative experience. Thus, one of the main consequences of sexual exploitation of minors is the occurrence of severe psychological trauma (Shrivastava et al., 2017). In addition, involvement in illegal activities has physiological consequences for the body of children, which can negatively affect their further development. Hence, in addition to injuries, there is a possibility of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, which, in the absence of proper attention and treatment, can lead to irreversible consequences or fatal outcomes.
Another essential characteristic of sexual violence and exploitation of minors is the illegality of these actions. Moreover, the more widespread this problem becomes, the more serious the threat becomes to society and health care. This is due to the fact that the global issue understudy can cover representatives of any race, economic or social status. However, children from low-income or poor families or children who are orphans from an early age are often involved in sexual exploitation. In addition, sexual exploitation implies several types of actions at once. Some of them include exposure of genitals, inappropriate touch, forced sexual intercourse, and inappropriate sexual practices.
Further, sexual exploitation and violence against children is an acute problem in Nigeria. If this is something incomprehensible and incomprehensible for some countries, it poses a severe threat in this region. It becomes especially concerning that any underage child is at risk, and the number of reported cases of confirmation of illegal activity is minimal (Pascoal, 2020). This circumstance makes it much more difficult for the government to deal with the problem under study. The current situation in the country is caused by established norms in society that do not pay enough attention to the regulation and monitoring of illegal activities related to children.
The cultural and social component of people’s lives in this country contributes to the development of the child sexual exploitation industry in Nigeria. According to statistics, more than twenty million underage girls in Nigeria are given in marriage (Allen and Adekola, 2017). Often, this happens in poor rural communities, where people give their children to wives in the hope of making their lives easier. Moreover, the relatively rapid population growth in the country supports the fact that this ingrained tradition will be observed by the population for a long time. Furthermore, it is worth noting that despite the increase in the population, less than half of the children remain unregistered (Ogunniran, 2017). This factor plays a negative role in the foundation for the formation of juvenile protection programs in Nigeria, as the government cannot obtain an accurate amount of data and assess the scale of the necessary interventions.
In order to gain a more profound understanding of the problem within the framework of this research work, various literary sources that studied sexual exploitation and abuse of minors in Nigeria were studied. Hence, the first thing that was noted most often was the fact that the female population is exposed to this problem much more often than the male (David et al., 2018; Newlin, 2015; Papalia, 2018). The main features that can be traced that contributed to the development of the problem under study are ignorance, poverty, and an insufficient level of education. Moreover, in some cases, it is noted that the cultural and social values of particular groups of people play a unique role.
In addition, many sources have investigated the consequences that may arise when minors are subjected to this form of sexual violence. Among them, psychological and physical ones stood out, which can seriously affect the well-being of the child and society as a whole. Thus, sources note the occurrence of stress syndromes, physical trauma, sexually transmitted infections, and teenage pregnancy (Gerassi, 2015). From the psychological aspect, it is possible to manifest deviant behavior and a future negative attitude towards sexual behavior.
As already mentioned, another negative result of the sexual exploitation of minors is the low number of appeals to law enforcement agencies. This affects not only the effectiveness and speed of the strategies adopted to remedy the situation but the health care system. Due to this circumstance, health planning initiatives suffer due to incorrect data. Thus, at the present stage, more and more scientific works are aimed at studying the problem of illegal sexual behavior toward minors. This will spread awareness about the global issue and create optimal solutions.
Measures the Country has in Place
One of the main levers of pressure that can contribute to changing the situation in the country is the legislation and actions of the government in relation to the protection of minors’ rights. As noted in the sources “Nigeria has recorded only a significant number of rape convictions in its legal history” (Bala, 2020). Thus, this part of the research paper aims to consider the legal side of the issue of child sexual exploitation in Nigeria and the need to combat it.
Henceforth, in the Southern and Northern parts of the country, special legislation has been established, The Criminal code and The Penal code, respectively. Both legal initiatives address the issue of illegal sexual acts, such as rape and desecration. Therefore, the Criminal Code has several sections at once that relate to the problem under study. For example, sections 216 and 218 consider the mistreatment of boys and girls under the age of fourteen as an offense of felony liable to imprisonment (Section 214-233 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act, para. 3-5). At the same time, when insulting boys, a criminal can receive seven years in prison, and if illegal actions are directed towards girls, a life sentence is imposed. The Penal code, in turn, has several articles in relation to illegal sexual acts involving minors (Bala, 2020). Hence, the crime is considered the offense of child rape if there was no consent and the woman was under four years of age.
Further, it is worth moving on to legislative state documents that concern the protection of the rights of minors. Thus, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria grants children certain fundamental rights that must be respected (Nigeria’s Constitution of 1999, 2022). Among these aspects, there are fundamental rights to life, the dignity of the human person, the right to private life, the right to association, and freedom of movement (Nigeria’s Constitution of 1999, 2022). With regard to the underage population, section 17 of the country’s Constitution emphasizes the need to protect children from exploitation. Moreover, this article includes limiting the possibility of moral and material neglect, which may contribute to the problem of illegal sexual acts against underage boys and girls.
In addition to constitutional acts, Nigeria has adopted The Child Rights Act. This document was adopted in 2003 and considered the inviolability of the rights and welfare of minors (Emelonye, 2020). Moreover, the legislative act implies a ban on committing any sexual acts against children, considering it an act of rape. Therefore, any person who involves themselves in this illegal action becomes liable to imprimatur for life. Another valuable point is section 21, which prohibits marriages with minors (International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, 2018). This is due to the fact that children under the age of majority are not able to be invalid marriages.
Another problematic aspect of Nigerian legislation in relation to sexual exploitation and violence against children is the difficulty of prosecuting with testimony in court. For many minors, the experience itself becomes highly traumatic, so many children refuse to contact law enforcement agencies. The main characteristics that can play as evidence of sexual exploitation of children are early pregnancy, vaginal or anal bleeding, infection, and chronic pelvic pain (Lopez, Focseneanu, and Merritt, 2018). When contacting a specialist and proving the fact of illegal actions, criminals can be tried in court. A positive influence on the solution of the problem described in this paper is the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004 (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, 2018). It provides an extension of the time for filing an application for illegal sexual acts against children from two months to any period of time after the experience. However, there are some limits to how long charges can be filed and a case to be prosecuted, which is two months.
Recommendations to Improve Areas of Intervention
Thus, based on all of the above, it can be concluded that the problem of child sexual exploitation is acute and requires an immediate solution. This circumstance appeared because it can seriously affect the future of the country and society. In Nigeria, sexual exploitation is supported by such manifestations of illegal activities as child marriage, molestation, child labor, kidnapping, and neglect (David, 2018; Olufunke, 2018; Zeanah and Humphreys, 2018). It is worth noting that there are several laws and policies in the country that are aimed at protecting the rights of minors but do not have full effectiveness. The main reasons for this circumstance are weak and not fully established enforcement mechanisms, a high level of poverty, lack of rehabilitation of sexual offenders, and ineffective judicial processes (Laird et al., 2020). Thus, it is possible to provide several recommendations that can help strengthen the policies and strategies implemented in the country to combat child sexual exploitation.
Therefore, to improve the situation, it is necessary to reform legislation on the protection of children’s rights and the dissemination of awareness about the problem, improving the quality of education. In other words, the problem requires an integrated approach, which implies the interaction and collaboration of several institutions at once (Ogunniran, 2017). This will speed up the process of limiting the issue and its negative consequences.
Regarding the Constitution of Nigeria, it is crucial to consider the issue of human rights, which it describes. A positive aspect is the coverage of all fundamental rights that an individual possesses. However, at the same time, the constitutional document does not distinguish the difference between children and adults. It is this point that is important and promotes modernization since the rights of adults and minors are of a different nature and cannot overlap only in the most essential aspects.
It is worth noting that one of the main reasons for the sexual exploitation of children is inadequate living conditions, unemployment, and poverty. Therefore, the government should pay more attention to the development of programs and policies to improve the economic condition of the population. Social packages that would provide some financial support to large families might be developed. Moreover, more jobs must be created to provide employment for financially low-income groups of the population. In addition, due to the fact that many children remain unregistered for the first years of life, the focus should be put on sexual education and legislation in this area. Spreading awareness about sexual interaction is vital for reducing the birth rate of underage mothers.
Due to the previously identified reasons for the emergence and strengthening of the problem of child sexual exploitation, the recommendation may be the direction of the country’s financial resources not only for sexual education but for the entire educational sector as a whole. This implies providing more open access to this area. Another step is to change social norms that will be aimed at protecting children from illegal actions by adults. Due to the low level of reports to the law enforcement agencies, it is impossible to provide confidence to children in protecting their rights and voice. This will lead to significant progress in catching criminals and limiting the negative consequences of the problem. In addition, it is necessary to ensure collaboration between all law enforcement agencies for an effective and productive exchange of information.
Further, it is vital to introduce proper investigation of court proceedings and complaints. This is especially true in cases where a person is suspected of sexual exploitation of a child. To provide at the legislative level the safety of minors when taking a direct part in the investigation or proceedings. Further, it is important to introduce more articles into the legislation of the country concerning psychological and medical assistance to injured underage children. Similarly, this includes the dissemination of information about the possibility of receiving support from both the state and specialized services.
Conclusion
From the side of affecting practical realities, especially time resources, the policy of making changes can take quite an extended period. This is due to the fact that the problem of sexual exploitation of children is characterized by a high level of complexity and is deeply rooted in the culture of the country. On the one hand, it can be counted on a positive response from society, as the policy is to strive for a general improvement of legislation and social and economic conditions in the country. Nevertheless, due to the complexity and depth of the problem under study, it is possible to encounter stagnation and resistance on the part of the public. All the proposed measures will contribute to a faster process of solving the problem of child sexual exploitation in Nigeria. In addition, it might force other scholars to invest in studying the researched problem.
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