 You're welcome back. It's still the breakfast on PLOS TV Africa and this is Friday and we're hoping that after here you're going to flex. That's why we call it flex Friday. We just take it easy and make sure that we don't wind. But right now there's a very worrisome issue that we need to address. It's been there. We talk about it all the time but it cannot be overemphasized and that is a child abuse. This child abuse prevention is what we want to talk about because this is child abuse prevention month and what are these issues that are most prevalent in stopping violence against children. So we are being joined by Priska Onwebu, a communications manager at CECIARA Foundation Lagos State. Priska, we're so glad to have you join us this morning. Good morning. Thank you for having me. Okay, like I said before we came to you, some people may be doing the same thing we are trying to talk against today but may not know it that they are breaking the law and they're doing something that they need not do. So let's start with the definition or the description of what you will call child abuse. Can you hear Priska? Yes, yes. Okay, so child abuse is an intentional harm done to a child. So we have the difference, an intentional act of violence done to a child and we as a child children and people below 18 years, children from 0 to 18 years, and it encompasses a whole lot. We have physical abuse, we have sexual abuse, we have emotional abuse, verbal abuse. So any intentional act of violence done against the child is an abuse. So from beating the child, inflicting physical injury on the child, to verbal abuse of the child and telling the child you're not, you're not, nothing to write home about. There's nothing good that can come out of you. Things like that are abused. So neglect, child neglect is a very big form of abuse. So we're neglecting a child and you're not providing the actual form of care that they need because every child has the right to care and protection and even education. So to emotional abuse, you know, from net that's most of its time, its results into emotional abuse. Think about sexual abuse, sexual abuse can be sexual assaults, touching a child inappropriately. You can also have some after penetration, physical penetration in some sensitive areas of the child. When you act against violence or injury on a child, is child abuse? What if when I send a child to go and hope pure water, something like that, you know, because some families just feel that things they do is normal. You contribute no matter how young to the family and you do the things that an adult should do. Yes, Hawking actually is child abuse. Unfortunately, many people don't know that and then they use the story of, okay, we are from a poor background. There's no way we're going to defend ourselves. It is childism, hawk. How is it going to go to school? What if it's an abuse? So this is why we're also beginning to sense pious parents and adults on the need to, first of all about child rights, the acts, the rights of children, first of all is care and protection. Because when these children go out of work, they're exposed to different forms of violence. You see people, most of them are exposed to area thugs, too many people who can pick on them and abuse them. Even Hawking itself, when they should be in school, is a lot of abuse. But parents don't know. So again, it's very much a surprise. But there's a lot against it for people next to know that turning a child to, instead of going to school is an abuse, no matter what it is. The child is born into the world to be taken care of. At his own risk, they are 18 or 21. So it's the responsibility of parents, no matter what, no matter the economic condition of the family, to take care of a child. Clearly, there is no doubt that some modern notions of child abuse may conflict with our traditional values of raising children. We do have that bit of a conflict. But some are clear-cut abuses, like child sexual abuse, like some that we've seen, some of the images you have, all sorts of bruises on the bodies of the child. No normal person would do that to a child and not know that this is an abuse, whether you're an African mother or not. So my question is, what government effort, let's assess government's efforts in tackling this and not just bringing it to the bearers minimum, but totally eradicating it in our society? Okay. So I know that we have, first of all, once we have the government has put in place the Child Rights Act, and it's a transition, we have that act in place. Although some states are yet to investigate the Child Rights Act, but I think we have this particular massive progress, knowing that we have about two states now, or the Federation, who have adopted the Child Rights Act, including the FCC. We also have the violent against persons prohibition acts, that's the act. So these laws are already in place, and they have clearly spelt out penalties for any form of abuse. So the government has taken a whole lot of step, okay, in putting acts together. We only have to apply a sizing that states and local agencies should domesticate these acts and ensure that it is implemented. So we don't have an act, a law issue, quote, in Nigeria. What we have is an implementation issue. What the laws are in place against child abuse. The Child Rights Act clearly states the rights of children and penalties for violating a child's rights, and then we have the violence against persons prohibition acts, that also spells out some penalties. Some of them range from continuous imprisonment for sexual abuse to life imprisonment for defilement of the minor. So many other states have their localised or domesticated acts that are against any form of abuse. So I know that we know that the government's already making a lot of effort. Lakers, for instance, is very big on prevention and response to gender sexual and gender-based violence. And already we have children's courts, we have family courts, where they are sent to cases of abuse for children. So we know that the government has been able to have an NGO's like CHR Foundation also working with these agencies, with government agencies, to ensure that every child is protected and every child is free or safe from abuse. But when you're seeing the cause, you also see the effects and all that, or you look at them the other way around. Sometimes there are things that we call child abuse, and like Maureen said, it could conflict with our traditional ways of disciplining a child, but sometimes the realities on ground will also be what will determine what can be done with the child or for the child or because of the child. And now if a child does not need to do XYZ, are there things that are provided so that when you don't do that, you will have the opportunity to get what you would have gotten if you were, I don't like the word abused. For instance, a family that feels that the mother can sell ogie somewhere else and the child can have pure water somewhere else and the father can sell rat poison somewhere else and they contribute all this money before they can get a meal. If you say you shouldn't do that part of it, there has to be some kind of palliative, there has to be some kind of cushion for this family. Do you think that is available in our community? Because if it is not, it will mean that some of this thing will only be talking and we cannot implement because the realities on ground do not give room for the implementation of this. So do you think as you are driving the policy of making sure every child, no child is abused, you are also addressing the reasons why some of these children are abused and I am talking about abuse, not the sexual abuse and the other physical abuse, but some of these things that also present as child abuse, like making them work like an adult and all that. So are you addressing those ones as well with the relevant authorities? Yes, we are. So we do advocacy, there is mostly policy advocacy and we also, we have different steering committees and conducting meetings with the government agencies on why they should have some of these things. So courts should be in place for families and as NGOs, some of us also have empowerment programs for low income families so that we know that they can thrive and they can talk with family grow or they can help, they can sustain their families. Actually for women, we have women empowerment programs and just to support the government because again, we know that at the moment the government cannot be able to do it unless and they cannot be able to do so much. But then we go, we work hand in hand with some local authorities and we do our own bit in empowering the families, mostly women. Our focus is generally on empowering mothers because most of the time, nurses, there are some fathers we have some little work they are doing but the mothers may not have anything to do. So we started some empowerment programs and there are a number of agencies trying to support women and yes, we meet with some government authorities. Sometimes we have events and we collaborate with government agencies or the state ministries to ensure that most of them are involved. You also see the plight of these people and again, we can only do one at a time. So it's, you know, it takes little drops of water that make MIT ocean eventually. I know we are working towards it and it may not be allocated at once. We see fine children working here and there. Over time, as we begin to have the working government that we desire, we can be able to achieve that goal of having taken every child of the streets and giving them the actual protection that they deserve. All right. Well, according to reports, 94 percent of abused children do not know where to seek for help. What arrangements are there for children who have suffered this kind of trauma, at least who are old enough to seek for help? What arrangements are there for them and how can they access these arrangements? All right. So, yeah, you mentioned that four percent of children do not know where to seek for help and is why we actually, that is one of the reasons the Tierra Foundation was founded. The major aim is to ensure that children can access help. And so we do this first of all. We offer a free need of services. Children have access. It's why we want people to know that there's help for them and there's help for children for free, at no cost to any child. It will import the Tierra Child Helpline, for instance. You have access to counselling or helpline counsellors that first of all dare to counsel you on the next steps. We have emergency rescues. We have social workers who are out going to rescue a child from an offending environment and bringing them into our shelter, which is a non-offending environment. We want to go out of the way to taking the parents or whoever has reported, ensure that they are safe also. We provide legal aid. So we institute the case at the police station, institute the case in court and go out of the way to standard prosecution witnesses for the child in court until the perpetrator is convicted. We also do medical support. We offer medical evidence that are important and corroborate to evidence in court. So we ensure that as a medical evidence, for instance, a case of child sexual abuse as a medical evidence for it, and even if it's a case of physical abuse, there are pictures, there are evidence to ensure that this child is mentally abused or mentally abused. Then we offer forensic interviewing. It's something that is still quite new in Nigeria. Sorry to cut you short because time will not allow us. This helps. How do people access them? Especially the government wants, the government wants. How do people access these government facilities or numbers that they can go to? Do you know any that they can go to? Okay, so I'll be speaking of the average area. We have a number of 0800 800 800 1. It's a toll-free helpline. And when you call us, we make the new referrals because we work with the Ministry of Health and Social Development. So if the case is beyond sexual abuse, we do have to refer you to the Ministry of Health and Social Development where they can place these children in certain shelters. But the number to call is 0800 800 800 1. And you have to make child get access to every kind of help. You couldn't refer our sentences. 0800 800 is the number to call. If you find yourself in an abusive situation, especially as a child, is it sexual? Is it any kind of abuse? If your life is threatened, call that number and you will get the help you may need to help you survive. And if you see someone who is in an abusive relationship or abusive situation, not relationship now, just situation, anyone of that kind, any child that is there, a lot of them will not have phones. So it is your civic duty to do the needful and report to the relevant authorities. Now we have a very short number, 0800 800 800. So you call that number and they will attend to you. Well, thank you so much, Priska Onwegbu, for coming on the show. It was a pleasure having you. Thank you very much. Okay, we were talking with Priska Onwegbu, Communications Manager, CC Yarra Foundation at Lagos State. But right now we'll take a short break. And when we return, we'll be joined by Muda Shirushito to take us around the world of sports. Stay with us.