TRENDING HUMAN RIGHT ABUSE AGAINST CHILDREN
Child-Abuse
Global Initiative and Amnesty International, UKaid, ROLE, A4ID lead Campaign
The trouble with child begins with the very definition of a child in law which accounts for corporal punishments in schools and in homes. In Nigeria, although a child attains majority when he attains the age of 18, under different circumstances the minimum age for the purpose of punishing juvenile offences is different. Under the criminal Code, a child under the age of 7 is not capable of being criminally responsible for an act or omission. A person under the age of 12 is not criminally responsible for an act or omission, unless it is proved that at the time of doing the act or making the omission he had capacity to know that he ought not to do the act.
In our traditional societies, criminal liabilities and even civil responsibilities are clearly limited to adults of the age of discretion. At that age, the family is seen as responsible for the deviant behaviour of their wards, hence the African belief that Children must be discipline by way of corporal punishment. The unwritten convention was that every adult had the responsibility to correct a child that errs and instill in him requisite rectitude.
These and many more are the issues that necessitated A Two-day Consultative Seminar to Develop Strategic Approaches to Prohibit and Eliminate Corporal Punishment of Children in Nigeria on the 25th – 26th day of February, 2020 powered by Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, Amnesty International, UKaid, Rule of Law Expertise (ROLE) and A4ID. Stakeholders were drawn from Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Federal Ministry of justice, Education, Nigerian Bar Association, Media, National Human Right Commission (NHRC) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
THE TRANSMITTER from instigation gathered that in spite of availability of legislations such the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act 2015, Child’s Right Act 2003 as well the Child’s Right Laws domesticated in Twenty Six States of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory protecting the rights and dignity of children in the country. There is high prevalence as statistics from the United Nation Children Emergency Fund shows that 10 out of every child in school experience one form of violence or the other
Addressing participants at the Seminar, the Africa Project Coordinator of Global Initiative to end Corporal Punishment of Children Sonia Vohito stated that Nigeria is yet to join the Yellow League of African Countries that has enacted legislations prohibiting Corporal punishment. Countries like Togo, Tunisia, Kenya, South Sudan, Kenya and Carpe Verde etc have legislation prohibiting Corporal punishment against children and there is need to galvanize Nigeria towards developing a National Legal framework for a Law prohibiting corporal punishment through a Legislative, judicial and Civil Society collaboration.
The African Project Coordinator stated further that there is need to develop an alternative discipline system which is more positive rather than corporal punishment. On their part, the participants agreed that the following issues around corporal punishment need drastic change so as to key into global and regional commitments to end all violence against children in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and Africa Agenda for Children 2040.
Other issues also raised by participants in the course of deliberations as challenges militating against the mitigation of corporal punishment in Nigeria include:
- Absence of a consultative platform to examine ways and challenges for achieving prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment in Nigeria.
- Non identification of priority States in Nigeria to deliver on the long term project towards prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment in Nigeria.
- Non availability of coalition partners for the implementation of long term project towards the prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment in Nigeria.
- Non availability of specific legislation towards prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment in Nigeria.
- Inadequate sensitization on the effect of global and regional commitments to end all violence against children in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and Africa Agenda for Children 2040.
- The existence of obnoxious laws permitting corporal punishment in schools such as S.55(d) Penal Code in the northern States and S. 295 Criminal Code in the southern States .
- Inadequate legislative approach towards ending corporal punishment.
- Inadequate statistics on cases of Corporal punishment cases in Nigeria.
- Inadequate judicial pronouncement and interpretation of statues prohibiting corporal Punishment in Nigeria.
Speaking after the Seminar the Country Director of Amnesty International Osai Ojigho appreciated participants for their time and stated further that those participants who are drawn from different government agencies, CSOs and other Professional Bodies are seen as advocates for this new drive towards prohibiting corporal punishment in schools, places of worship, children homes as well detention centres and urge participants to come with strategies as well as develop action plans towards ending this child dignity violation as Amnesty International is open to supporting such initiative .
Good will messages from Global Imitative, Amnesty International, UNICEF, Save the Children, PLAN International, Federal Ministry of Education; all demonstrated commitment to advocacy, sensitization and capacity building to prohibiting Corporal Punishment in Schools.
