Debbie Ariyo raises awareness on child protection @ one-day Ceehope workshop

Chief Executive of AFRUCA Safeguarding Children. Debbie Ariyo Obe has called on parents and government officials to take on the challenge of protecting children from abusers while also identifying areas they should pay attention to.

She made the call on Monday October 27 at a one-day workshop in Lagos organised by  Ceehope Nigeria with the theme, “Child protection in a fast changing world.”

Debbie, a well known child protection specialist, observed that despite the increasing rate of  child abuse in Nigeria the number of abusers that have been prosecuted are insignificant.

She then called on all stakeholders to  work towards stemming the tide.

By all means, she noted, ‘parents, teachers, government officials and the police must collaborate to address cases of child abuse in the country.”

Prevent the abuse

The first thing to do according to Debbie is to prevent the abuse from taking place and also report known cases to the police and relevant authorities

“Parents should be able to use their initiatives to identify what can go wrong and prevent it. The question should be, what must I do not to put children at risk. We should stay away from things that can expose them to danger and possible abuse.’  she said.

While noting that there are no domestic servants in the UK the way it’s common in Nigeria, she said, “Anytime you have a stranger in your house your children are at risk .

“Your duty as parents is to make sure bad things don’t happen to them . You have to be aware of things that can put your children at risk and avoid them .”

She noted that many parents and caregivers are negligent and careless about the safety of their children. “When we fail to do what we are supposed to do to protect our children we put them at risk.

“Lack of cleanliness for instance can expose children to health hazards that will compromise their health. And that is a form of abuse. Poverty does not mean you can’t get rid of things that can compromise your children’s health like cockroaches in your house. It is as basic as that.

In preventing abuse, Debbie called for early intervention. “Protection is a component of child safeguarding. Every child by all means should be protected and should be made to know when they are  abused.”
“

A child that is being given gifts by a supposed uncle for instance should be made to understand why that gift is being given so it would not be a bait.

She noted also that confidentiality is another  key component to safeguarding children. “We should not expose children unduly. Journalists in their reports should protect the identity of children when it comes to sensitive stories.”

On online abuse of children, she said,  “The bulk of what we are to do revolve around educating the children. Every child must know they can be vulnerable online. Sexual exploitation online is rife and many other abuses. But we can stem the tide if there is proper education of children on the negative effect of the harmful online stuffs.”

She noted that “many children don’t understand the consequences of what will happen to them.when they consume online stuffs.. Our duty is to keep educating them and exposing them to the danger of being vulnerable online. Parents should also live by example . We should be wary of the apps we expose our children to even if they are educational apps.”

She recommended that every organisation that deals with children should have a child protection policy that will spell out how children in their custody are handled while also adding that “culture should never be a reason to abuse children .’

Stop stigmatising children

Founder of CEE Hope Nigeria, Betty Abah in  her delivery warned against stigmatising children and putting them down rather “we should  see how they can be helped.”

She said there is a need to continue to talk about child abuse. ” In Nigeria we need to talk more about child abuse and child based issues. We should make sure the knowledge about child abuse reaches those who need it and we should be more inclusive in our approach to solving the menace.’

The post Debbie Ariyo raises awareness on child protection @ one-day Ceehope workshop first appeared on Church Times Nigeria - News, features and more.