All children deserve childhoods free from all manner of sexual abuse and exploitation. Without this safety, we put our future as a society at risk. As a part of the Old Nursery Rhyme states “……listen to your children, we are the leaders of tomorrow”, the rise and fall of every nation deepends solely on her future leaders, which should be psychologically fit to run the affairs of the state. Child Sexual Abuse is a devastating social problem in The Nigerian society. Over the years, very little cases have been reported and the supportive effort towards victims of such cases have been extremely low. However tragic and sensational, the counts of deaths and serious injuries provide limited insight into the pervasive long-term social, behavioural, and cognitive consequences of child abuse and neglect. Reports of child sexual abuse alone also reveal little about the interactions among individuals, families, communities, and society that lead to such incidents. The Nigerian society has not yet recognized the complex origins or the profound consequences of child sexual abuse. The services required for children who have been abused, including medical care, family counselling, foster care, and specialized education, are neglected. Equally disturbing, research suggests that child abuse cases are highly related to social problems such as juvenile delinquency, gender based abuse, and violence, which require additional services and severely affect the quality of life for many Nigerian families. Sexual abuse of children is a global health and human rights problem that has been largely under-reported and understudied in Nigeria. Little is therefore known regarding information on the nature of child sexual abuse and the predisposing factors in our communities.
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