Trends in Child Sexual Molestation, Rape and Incest: A View from South West Nigeria

Out of the blues, sexual molestation, especially rape and incest is suddenly on the increase in Nigeria. Presently, many Nigerians have lost their once cherished values of decency and responsibility, in view of several cases of adult males defiling young under-aged girls being widely reported daily in both the print and electronic media. Most times, these acts of betrayal of trust are perpetrated mostly by close neighbours, uncles, pastors, imams, teachers, fathers etc. Benefitting from documentary data accessed from the Internet/web and national newspapers, In-depth Interviews (IDIs) were conducted with some personnel of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and some victims, Key Informants techniques (KIIs) were used to elicit information from the Police and Courts for the study. The paper submits that sometimes, the victim is cajoled and deceitfully taken advantage of; oftentimes, it is forceful, violent rape that leaves the victim physically and psychologically bruised and scarred. In extreme cases, the victims – especially those who resist, lose their lives or are maimed for life. The study identifies that extant provisions in both the Criminal and Penal Codes in Nigeria, on child sexual abuse, are not stringent enough, while the Nigerian Child Rights Act (CRA) (2003) is yet to be enacted by many States of the Federation, and also the attending issue of delay in the Courts. The Police are equally hampered by lack of specialized training/skills and poor logistics for quick responses. The study strongly suggests that child sexual molestation can be significantly reduced through aggressive mass sensitization programmes; the formal punishment for sexually abusing a child should be quite severe and even to the very limit permitted by the law, to serve as an effective deterrent.