Project Alert on Violence Against Women, a Non-Governmental Organisation, has stressed the need for a broader perspective on sexual violence against minors, noting that the issue extends far beyond cases of rape.
The organisation made this known on Wednesday during the closing event of its three-year intervention project on sexual violence and young persons within academic institutions, held in Calabar.
Addressing participants, Ms Nsini Udonta, Senior Programme Officer at Project Alert, explained that the initiative was borne out of a 2012 survey which highlighted alarming trends in child sexual abuse.
“The survey revealed that 77 per cent of sexual violence victims were children between the ages of zero and 17, with a large proportion of cases occurring in school settings,” she said.
She further noted that the project, titled “Kasa”—a Hausa word meaning “speak out”—was designed to sensitise students through the formation of school-based clubs and the implementation of targeted educational programmes.