CDCF is a child’s right advocate with focus on child protection and development. As a child’s right advocate and a member of Child Protection Network (CPN), child protection is seen as a desirable means to ensure child development. Failure to ensure right of the children to protection in our society is getting seriously disturbing.
As a concerned organization, cases of rape or defilement against children are seen as serious criminal acts of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). Reports of such cases are being recorded at an alarming rate while reports of its prosecution to punish the offenders are very negligible if not zero. Most of the offenders have always been escaping justice while the victims are left to suffer the pain of serious injury, loss of virginity and pride, humiliation, emotional torture, pains of venereal diseases including dreaded HIV, and some may suffer permanent destruction of womb leading to inability to reproduce in life.
The serious concern is the rate at which offenders escape justice with impunity in spite of the magnitude of hardships and pain the victims and relations are subjected to. Most of the cases recorded never go beyond the jurisdiction of the police stations. Most cases at the Police station, even at the CID level, the offenders and victims will end up for settlement like any other minor dispute and put an end to the case. This is highly disturbing and very worrisome. It gives one cause to suspect conspiracy against child protection by the police. We are aware that police has the discretionary power to settle minor disputes but certainly not for serious criminal cases like defilement or rape of innocent children.
Cases of CSA are on alarming increase as being reported daily. One major reason for its rising prevalence rate is the escape of justice by the perpetrators with impunity. Inability to punish the offenders will amount to injustice to the victims and an insult to the society at large. This situation enhances people’s feeling of insecurity in the hands of the several unsuspecting children sexual abusers. The abusers do not have label. Their escape of justice is a motivation to repeat the act, and no doubt they will repeat again and again. The potential abusers are not deterred but instead being encouraged by the prevailing fact of no justice to be done to them.
To reduce the prevalence rate, there is greater need to ensure that justice is truly done with proper sanction attached to the offenders. The onerous task of championing the cause of justice lies with the police. We should let people feel a sense of security and confidence that when any crime is committed and particularly against children who are future leaders, justice must be done.