Foundation decries exclusion of boys in sexual abuse campaign

Hope for Second Chance Foundation (HOSEC), an NGO, on Monday, says the poor emphasis on the protection of boys from sexual and related abuses in the society has increased its prevalence and exposed more children to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

Its Founder, Mrs. Ibukunoluwa Otesile, stated in an interview in Abuja that parents and organizations placed more emphasis on protecting the girl-child from all forms of abuse, neglecting the male child.

Otesile, who threw more light on the group’s advocacy to ending SGBV and her newly released books — “The Game” and “The Cost of Silence”, explained that boys were as vulnerable as girls too, oftentimes sexually molested without confiding inappropriate persons.

She said that the book — “The Cost of Silence” focuses on the multiplier effect of violence, as it x-rays the grave consequences of silence when and where abuse is suspended or witnessed.

She added that “in a world where the safety and well-being of children is keenly contested, the society has a responsibility to ensure and enforce child protection with positive and intentional parenting at its very heart.

“The story highlights the connection between domestic violence and child abuse. It mirrors the dangers of faulty parenting and the risks of substance abuse.

“It also attempts to bring to consciousness that boys also experience sexual abuse and should be protected too.”

The NGO founder, who also runs the Ibadan Schools Child Sexual Abuse Awareness campaign to teach parents and children body safety and protection, stressed the need for community involvement in reporting, prosecuting, and ending SGBV.

Meanwhile, Otunba Segun Runsewe, the Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), recently tasked the media to engage more in investigating rape and other Sexual Gender-Based Violence with a view to curbing the menace.

Runsewe, during a one-day capacity building training for newsmen on “Reporting Rape”, organized by NCAC, said reporting SGBV cases
would create awareness of the negative effects on victims and society.

Reporting SGBV cases would also ensure justice was served and perpetrators brought to book, he added.