How Nations Are Tackling Domestic Violence.

Published on March 12, 2012 by TheNEWS   ·   No Comments

Across the globe, governments, working in tandem with concerned agencies, are strategising to save their citizens from harm resulting from violence perpetrated by their partners.

•The United States: There are multiple approaches undertaken to check the rise in domestic violence. Apart from government legislations, the country’s body of lawyers, the American Bar Association, ABA, has a special committee, The Commission on Domestic Violence, which provides support to victims through the its attorneys.

•United Kingdom: Domestic violence in the home among partners is rife in the United Kingdom. The Home Office is proposing Clare’s Law, a scheme which seeks to grant intending couples the “right to ask”, to ascertain the past record of the would-be partner pertaining to molestation and traces of criminal tendencies.

•Russia: The country has no independent law that forbids domestic strife. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNCHR, notes: “Domestic violence is not recognised as a separate crime in Russia. There is no legal definition of domestic violence in Russia.”

•Angola: African societies too are steeped in the domestic violence malaise. In Angola for example, worried by the spate of gender abuse, the government, civil societies, the media and faith-based organisations are collaborating to create awareness on the subject.

Until recently, there was no rule prohibiting spousal battery in Angola. Things will however change soon. According to gender analyst, Louis Redvers, a new law is due to be passed this year to discourage people from ill-treating people they profess to love.

•Kenya: If projected figures of victims of violence in other climes draw sympathy for women, the case of Kenya is a spectacular irony. Men are at the receiving of end of partner maltreatment in that country. The men organised a hunger strike to protest against the scandalising ratio of husband bashing in the country.

Through their registered NGO, Men Against Women Excesses, they are developing measures to insulate themselves from the anguish they suffer. Having lost the power of superintendence over their homes, some of the men have reportedly found exit valves in excessive liquor consumption.

A piece of legislation is being debated to address all gender-related misdemeanors. Titled Sexual Offences Bill, when passed by the Kenya legislature, it will confront rape, including marital rape and violence in the home against children and couples.

Nigeria’s Kid Prostitutes –Their Sobering Story

 

Published on March 28, 2011 by TheNEWS   ·   2 Comments

It is unfortunate that kid prostitution has taken an ugly dimension across the country (Kid Prostitutes – Their Sobering Story, TheNEWS, 21 March 2011 edition). Before this report, not many Nigerians believed that kid prostitution was rife in the country. I commend you guys for doing a thorough research to get the facts. The report is informative and educating. I blame the kids’ plight on the dwindling economic situation in the country.
Joy Akele,
Benin-City.

I must say I was flabbergasted to read about the dismal level child prostitution has reached in Nigeria. It is incredible that these little girls are no longer afraid of staying the night outside their homes. Instead, they have resorted to plying their acquired immoral trade along the road, in brothels and even spending the night in strange homes. Judging by the way things are going in the country, there is no stopping the trend due to widespread poverty and high rate of school dropout. It is sad and shameful.
Victoria Edidem,
Oron.

The truth of the matter is that kid prostitution is a social malaise in Nigeria. But who are to blame—parents, the kids themselves, or the men who patronise them? To me, parents need to live up to their responsibilities. They should go all out to make sure they are able to provide the basic things their kids need. When they do this, most of the kids will not take to the street and brothels to sell their bodies in order to survive. While prostitution may not be the best way out, it, however, affords them enough money to settle their immediate needs. Some people talk about them engaging in proper work. What are their qualifications and where are the jobs? We all know that small scale companies, road side stores and the like do not follow the minimum wage policy here in Nigeria?
As for the men who patronise these teenage prostitutes and the owners of the brothels that accommodate them, they have no conscience. They are just selfish. Parents should try as much as possible to provide the basic needs for their kids as this is the only way they can cultivate a dignified lifestyle.
Joseph Ajebina,
Ogbomoso.

I must commend you for the marvlelous report on kid prostitutes you presented in your 21 March edition. The story is germane to our society. It is both informative and educative to parents who did not know the kind of lifestyle their children were leading and how dangerous it is.
Tolani Jinadu,
Abeokuta.

I agree with your magazine that Nigeria is in trouble considering the growing trend of child prostitution across the country. The sad thing is that almost everybody in the society shares the blame for creating the conditions for the depressing situation to thrive.
First, parents whose kids are in the streets fending for themselves are to blame for failing to provide the basic needs of their children. If these child prostitutes get what they want, most of them definitely will not go into the trade as early as they do.
The children themselves are to blame for choosing the fast lane to get to the top. No matter what people are saying, there still are noble jobs out there. The only setback is that the pay is small. There is nothing wrong if these kids settle for low paying jobs instead of selling their bodies for money.
Above all, governments over the years are to blame for bastardising the economy. The economy is so bad these days that husbands now send their wives out to sell their bodies so that they can survive. Are you surprised? It is true, especially in Lagos and Abuja.
Akeem Akintobi,
Ile-Ife.

I agree that prostitution among girls between 12 and 18 years is on the increase across the country. But I do not blame these kids as they are forced into the trade by circumstances. Take a situation whereby a 12-year-old girl is left alone at home all day with no food to eat, and next to her parents’ room lives a bachelor who cooks tantalising dishes emitting a strong aroma that makes her to salivate. What should she do; pretend she is not perceiving the aroma?
Now if the girl and the bachelor decide to use what they have to get what they want, they both will end  up in bed, won’t they? This is how child prostitution begins. Welcome to the reality on ground in Nigeria today. Sorry, there is nothing anybody can do about the situation because of the economic realities on ground.
Taiwo Mogaji,
Port-Harcourt.

After reading your cover story on Nigeria’s kid prostitutes in your 21 March edition, I came to the conclusion that we may write whatever we want, cry or shout as much as we can, but nobody can stop the practice which has been with us for years. This explains why pregnant teenagers are on the increase. But how can one know their true ages when nowadays children are growing at an alarming rate and they are very good at declaring false ages in order to be admitted into places they otherwise should not be.
Adenike Atanda,
Ijebu-Ode.

As always, it takes two to tango. If these kid prostitutes do not have people patronising them, they definitely will stop lining up along the streets and going to brothels to sell their bodies. If only it was possible to stop those foolish men who run after them for sex from doing so, the future of our female children would be better.
Sesan Omoniyi,
Lagos.

The prevalence of kid prostitution in Nigeria is a reflection of the immorality and misplaced values among members of the society. Agreed, the trend has always been there, but it was not this pronounced. I think our leaders are to blame for the growing trend.
Umaru Mohammed,
Sokoto.

It is hard to believe that some people can condescend as low as engaging kids as prostitutes either to satisfy their sexual urge or for financial reasons. This goes a long way to show  that the moral values our forefathers held high are disregarded by our people today. Unless action is taken to stop this ugly trend, our values will be lost in no time.
Niran Adebiyi,
Ibadan.

Prostitution, as old as it is, has never been seen as a dignified profession in any sense. Now the involvement of teenagers in the trade is making it even more terrible. It is a pity that this immorality is now festering in our society. I fear for the children of the poor who are forced or deceived into getting involved in the trade. What hope is there for them, considering the sorry state of the country’s economy today?
Festus Obanla,
Lagos.

It is both illegal and immoral for anybody to keep any female child under his roof for the purpose of using her to satisfy the sexual desire of men for a profit. The owners of the brothels where kids are harboured to perform this act should be arrested promptly and prosecuted. Those patronising them should also be arrested and made to face the music.
Ibrahim Lawal,
Bida.

It is glaring that most of the kid prostitutes are from broken homes or homes so disorganised that nobody cares what the other person is doing. It is difficult to see children of responsible––not necessarily rich––families becoming wayward to the extent of becoming prostitutes. The only way out of this malaise is for us to go back to our old family values whereby whoever brought disgrace to the family was treated as an outcast and not what we practise now—whoever brings money, whether by crook or hook, is treated as a hero or heroine.
Comfort Peters,
Port-Harcourt.

The younger, the sweeter. Is this really true? Is this why men now go for young, even under-aged, girls? I pity people who partake in a thing like this. I do not see anything special in having sex with somebody I know would suffer physical and emotional pains because of my size and her tenderness, just because I believe the younger the lady the sweeter. Whoever believes there is something special in doing so is abnormal. The person is mad. It is only a mad man that will not feel remorse sleeping with a child. Their perverted minds need psychological and spiritual cleansing. What sort of evil drives them?
Michael Ibikunle,
Ibadan.

I must confess that I found the cover story on Nigeria’s kid prostitutes very disheartening. It is very sad that some people find pleasure in turning teenage girls into prostitutes. Parents and guardians of teenage girls, especially those from very poor families, should endeavour to guide their children to cherish moral values, which would help them gain the respect of the society.
Ngozi Ezenwa,
Abakaliki.

Your story on child prostitution shows clearly that the ‘End Time’ is near. I am not surprised at all. The girls are only fulfilling the scriptures. The Bible has predicted all these things, even the tsunami and fighting in Libya and other countries. Only God can rescue these growing kid prostitutes from our streets.
Adaora Oba,
Owerri.

The Silent Killer

Published on February 6, 2012 by TheNEWS   ·   No Comments

There is so much awareness on HIV/AIDS, but very little is known about Hepatitis B, which is similarly deadly

• A black couple kissing. Having multiple sex partners increases the risk of Hepatitis

Three years ago, Mr. Oluyinka Opadotun, a 50-year-old teacher, experienced a protracted bout of fever. This coincided with the marking of scripts for the West African Examinations Council senior secondary school examinations. As a result, he abandoned the scripts and asked that a senior colleague continue the marking. He rushed home, where his wife, a nurse, gave him some drugs. The drugs brought no respite, as he vomited profusely. He also noticed blood clots in the vomit and realised that his affliction was not just a fever. His wife rushed him to the hospital, where a series of tests was carried out on him.

The tests revealed that he had liver cirrhosis which was the result of chronic hepatitis B. At the hospital, he was asked about his medical history. He told the doctor that he had jaundice about 30 years ago. Jaundice is one of the symptoms of hepatitis.

Today, Opadotun has accepted his fate. Every three weeks, he goes for medical check-up and he has been placed on drugs that he has to take for the rest of his life. The drugs are quite expensive, thereby stretching his financial resources. He was also told to stay off alcohol. The alternative to this treatment regime is a liver transplant. Unfortunately, that is not available in Nigeria. “It is a real burden for me. The drugs are quite expensive, yet I have to take them for the rest of my life,’’ Opadotun, who is a civil servant told TheNEWS.

Hepatitis virus infections continue to be a major disease burden worldwide. The World Health Organisation, WHO, estimate, based on weighted average for regions rather than individual (because of lack of data in developing countries), revealed that Hepatitis C Virus, HCV, accounts for 20 per cent of cases of acute hepatitis, 70 per cent of cases of chronic hepatitis, 40 per cent of cases of end-stage cirrhosis, 60 per cent of cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC, and 30 per cent of liver transplants. An estimated 27 per cent of cirrhosis and 25 per cent of HCC worldwide occur in HCV-infected people

According to Dr. Olufunmilayo Lesi, consultant physician and gastro-enterologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Nigeria belongs to the group of countries with a high rate of hepatitis virus infection. Its prevalence is about 10-20 per cent based on the extrapolation of 90 million Nigerians. But awareness of its deadliness is extremely low. It is a disease that attacks the largest organ in the body – the liver. “A long-term damage restrains the liver, which performs numerous functions like conversion of glucose to glycogen, filteration of harmful substances from the blood, conversion of toxic products into non-toxic ones, storage of glycogen, vitamins A, D, B12 and tracing elements among others,” said Lesi.

She described hepatitis as a condition that involves the inflammation or swelling of the liver, a condition that can be caused by viral infections A-E, bacteria, drugs, alcohol, certain medications, chemicals and poisons or by other diseases.

The commonest causes, she explained, are viruses. “These are types A, B, C, D and E. But the most prevalent of these viral infections is Type B, with a prevalence of 10-20 per cent,” she explained.

Lesi explained that these viral infections manifest in acute and chronic stages, depending on the spectrum of the infection. Hepatitis A, also known as oro-faecal, is of the acute variety. It is spread through contaminated food and water. It can cause acute hepatitis in young people. But it is curable within six months of treatment. Unfortunately, Lesi warned, it can also persist for years.

Hepatitis B can be acute and chronic. In chronic inactive Hepatitis B, the virus does not multiply and it is less likely to lead to liver damage. Lesi advised that a patient with chronic inactive hepatitis requires monitoring because about 60-70 per cent of the virus could become active.

Hepatitis B is not contracted through food and drink, but through contact with blood or body fluid, or sharing of contaminated needles among intravenous drug users. It is transmitted through blood transfusion with an infected blood or blood products, hemodialysis or organ transplants from infected donor and is the most dangerous of the species. Transplants, however, are no longer a common mode of transmission as they once were. Lesi added that blood and blood products are now tested to ensure that they are not contaminated. As a result, cases of Hepatitis B related to transfusion, hemodialysis, or transplantation have dropped to almost zero. She advised that blood collected for the purpose of transfusion undergoes tests recommended by the World Health Organisation. The tests are hepatitis B, surface antigen, antibody to hepatitis C, antibody to HIV, usually sub-types 1 and 2, as well as serologic test for syphilis.

Certain traditional practices have also been found to play some role in hepatitis B virus transmission. These include scarification marks, sharing of body-piercing objects, sharing of toothbrushes, and instruments for native uvulectomy (excision of the uvaula). Uvulectomy is practised in Nigeria as treatment for sore throat. It is usually carried out by local healers in very unhygienic environments. The procedure carries other risks like bleeding, anaemia, sepsis and transmission of other pathogens, including HIV and HBV.

Other causes are mother-child transmission, child-child transmission and through sexual intercourse with an infected person. Dr. Lesi warned that having multiple sex partners and engaging in a deep kiss with an infected person who has an ulcer or sores on the gum, mouth or on the tongue is a risk factor in the transmission of hepatitis B.

Dr. Oladipupo Hammed, a consultant physician and gastro-enterologist at Subol Hospital Group, Lagos, explained that in mother-child transmission, the virus is transmitted during childbirth. “It happens that a child who has picked it up during delivery grows up with it for so many years. In the absence of screening to detect the presence of the virus, it would have become chronic hepatitis B infection,” he said.

Child-child transmission occurs when an infected child plays with other children. While playing, some children bite one another. It can also be transmitted through the use of towels previously used by an infected child who has a bruise. A child does not manifest the symptoms until it is too late. The commonest manifestations of a symptomic period of chronic hepatitis B are fever and body pains. Some, however, show no symptoms for between 15 and 30 years. During this period, an infected person experiences mild symptoms while the liver gets progressively damaged. If this continues, the liver becomes scarred, hardened and then starts to fail. This may also result in liver cancer.

Hammed pointed out that many people present themselves at the end stage when it is too late. “The problem is that most people do not screen for hepatitis B virus. The screening costs between N500 and N1,000. The health care provider interviews you about your illness or medical history. The patient will be asked about symptoms and any exposure to hepatitis viruses. Then the blood will be drawn and tested in the laboratory to determine whether the patient has been exposed to hepatitis. And for those found to be positive, further investigations are carried out to determine if it is acute or the chronic type,’’ he explained.

The most widely used method detects antibodies to these viruses. Tests are also available to identify which of the six known strains of the virus is causing the infection. This can help determine the best treatment plan. Other tests will be done to check the effects of the infection on other organs of the body.

The treatment plan depends on the severity of infection. For hepatitis B, the treatment is for life. This ensures that the liver continues to work well.

“The drugs for treatment are expensive. There are different brands coming in from different places. A reliable brand costs about N15,000 per month. Patients will have to undergo investigation between the third and sixth month, possibly for a minimum of five years, depending on the response. They may have to do this for as long as possible,” he stressed.

Liver transplant as an alternative for treatment of liver cirrhosis, said Hammed, is not available in Nigeria. According to him, South Africa and Egypt are the only African countries where liver transplants are carried out.

Hepatitis C has a prevalence of about five per cent of the population. It can be acute and chronic, while Hepatitis E is only acute.

Professor Innocent Ujah of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, said the awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS has lowered the rate of infection through contaminated blood to between four and five per cent.

Lesi explained that there is a need for more awareness on hepatitis, test for hepatitis and the treatment available.

The prevalence of HIV in Nigeria is put at about 4 per cent, while that of Hepatitis B is thought to be 15 per cent.

Child Prostitutes Of Oyingbo

Published on February 6, 2012 by TheNEWS   ·   1 Comment

A severely depressed part of Oyingbo in Lagos is a thriving sex market, where child prostitutes are the wares

•Man wooing a girl in a ghetto

Ordinarily, the area opposite the popular Mainland Hotel in Oyingbo, Lagos, should kill the appetite – whether for food, drinks or sex. It is the definition of dreary. There is as much filth per square metre as a refuse dump. Chaos rules, whether in the architecture or daily lives of residents. Homes, erected indiscriminately, are grim shacks made from roofing sheets, bricks, cardboards and any other material available. Ventilation, by and large, is optional. On account of the generous amount of filth available, flies are some of the happiest inhabitants of the area. Since there is enough filth to go round, the flies never need to exert themselves.

But the area does not kill appetites, at least, for sex and alcohol. As grim as the place is, it still gets many loins throbbing, a state of affairs that has yielded a thriving sex market.

The busiest points of this market are five spectacularly dingy brothels – Niger, Juba, Titilayo, Izibar and Chico – all located on the shoulders of the railway line that runs through the slum from Iddo.

The market comes alive once dusk falls, becoming the sexual playground of cobblers, vulcanisers, motor park touts and, some say, illicit drug users. The prostitutes use the railway line as the runway to parade their wares. Of course, wearing as little as possible is the equivalent of dressing up.

Prostitutes here are mainly of three types: the old, washed-out hags; the about to be washed-out and the presumably fresh ones in their teens. With as little as N200, a man can procure a quick bout of sex. More enduring sessions are naturally costlier. Depending on a customer’s bargaining ability, a prostitute could be had for a whole night for between N2,500 and N8,000.

There are other services in-between. If a patron wants only oral sex, he gets it – for a fee. It is not a fixed one, though.

The girls pay the managers N1,500 daily as rent. There are other fees and fines that can be slammed on the tenants when circumstances arise.

At 14 and standing over five feet tall, Success, one of a large number of teenage hookers in the area, has big dreams. She wants to go to Morocco, from where she hopes to find her way to Spain. That dream has been held back by the fear of having an unsuccessful trip. She also wants to get married. “My parents bother. If not for them and the need to get married when I am old, I would have gone by now,” she said.

Success, despite her age, is adept at what she does. She approaches sex as unfussily as an accountant handles a ledger.

Inside her poorly ventilated room at Juba Hotel, she showed that it was strictly business. “Sir, please pay me and come and sex me, let me go and hustle,” she told this reporter.

The girls came to the brothels for various reasons. Success views the brothel as a springboard to greater things. Franca, a 16-year old native of Delta State, told this medium that she left her state for Lagos in the hope that she would make good money here and when she returns, she would be the envy of her friends. Another teenage hooker, Ngozi, said she came to Lagos out of adventure.

Clients are provided in decent numbers by the nearby luxury bus parks from where passengers travel to the northern part of the country. Life in the prostitutes’ enclave is structured. At the top is the “chairman”, who represents the owner of the building. He collects rents from the girls, ensures discipline and settles matters relating to police and street urchins that run protection rackets.

“Police do come here regularly because of the bad boys. But because our chairman settles the policemen, they don’t disturb us,” Ngozi said.

Neither the Divisional Police Officer nor any officer of the Denton Police Station, Ebute Metta, would speak on the matter. Unsurprisingly, the area is crime-infested.

According to residents, laws are rarely enforced, making the place a paradise for the criminally-minded. Social amenities are virtually non-existent. According to Dr. Grace Ijarogbe, Consultant Psychiatrist, Federal Neurological Hospital, Lagos, a slummy environment predisposes dwellers to sex-related ailments and crime, as well as alcohol and drug use.

Man kills son, mutilates wife

Dear Friends, 

Once again, yet another woman has been brutalised by her husband, and is fighting for dear life. Mrs. mercy Nnadi, of No.3 Lambe Street Okota, was burnt with electric iron by her husband, who also killed their only son. 


Mrs. Nnadi needs help to pay her steadily mounting hospital bills, where she is not only receiving physical treatments for her burns, but also psychological treatment, as she is severely traumatised by the incidence. 


please contact Project Alert on Violence Against Women at projectalert@projectalertnig.org; or Centa for Organizational development at codnigeria2010@gmail.com. FOR HOW LONG 


WILL WOMEN DIE OR BE MAIMED IN THE NAME OF MARRIAGE? Domestic violence is destructive.


Josephine Effah-Chukwuma

YET ANOTHER CASE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

RE: BRUTAL MURDER OF MRS OMOZOJE TITILAYO AROWOLO (nee OYAKHIRE)

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, it is with a deep sense of pain and anger, that Project Alert on Violence Against Women, on behalf of the Gender-Based Violence Response Network, GBVRN-Lagos, Male Involvement Project, and several other civil society groups, is welcoming you to this press conference on domestic violence by Nigerians, the second in the last six weeks.

Pain at the senseless and gruesome murder of yet another woman, a young and promising lady, cut in her prime by a beastly husband; and anger at a society that through its actions or inactions, encourages continued acts of violence against women and young girls at home and in the public. Six weeks ago, it was the case of High Commissioner Chijioke Wigwe, whose wife at least is alive to tell her story; but today it is Akolade Arowolo’s wife Titi, who unfortunately is not alive to tell her story.

Whether it is a mere slap or fight that resulted in “just a cut”, that bled and the victim uses her hands to rub the blood on her face (as stated by Wigwe in his own statement); or deep stabs with knives and hammer as used by Akolade on his wife, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MUST STOP.  Marriage is not and should not be a DEATH SENTENCE for anyone – male or female.

Four structures and institutions that have contributed greatly to incessant cases of violence in the home include – the family, the community, religious groups and law enforcement agencies. These structures and institutions need to be re-defined and reviewed, if they are to meet the numerous challenges being experienced by families. Akolade comes from a family; he belongs to a community; he was ordained a pastor in a church, (RCCG); and the matter was reported to the police.

Apart from the fact that the family is yet to come to terms with the shocking way and manner their mother (Titi left behind a one and a half year old daughter), daughter, sister, cousin, niece died, the OYAKHIRE family, and indeed Civil Society Groups, are also concerned about the preliminary actions taken by the police at Aswani Police Station, who first handled the matter before it was transferred to Panti. This concern stems from the fact that any lead, piece of information or evidence missed or not properly preserved, could weaken the prosecutor’s case.

These concerns include:

·       Though in possession of Akolade’s three phones, the police are yet to request from the respective telecom providers, the last called numbers on the phones, which are very important to the investigation. This is particularly worrisome as we reliably learnt that last called numbers, are only saved by these telecom companies for only two weeks, after which they are wiped off. Already it is 12 days after the incident.

·       That the information provided by the police at Aswani Police Station in relation to the eventual arrest of Akolade ìs quite hazy and confusing, thereby causing concern about the preservation of evidence got from the murder scene. A petition in this regard, has been sent to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Mr. Yakubu Alkali, by the family lawyer, Mr. Nelson Ekoh.

·       Considering that under the laws applicable in Lagos, Akolade, has spent about eight more days in police custody since his capture last week Monday, why hasn’t he being arraigned by the police before a magistrate?

Thus we are calling for the following:

·         That as a matter of urgency, the police should request for the last called numbers on Akolade’s phones, from the telecom companies he was using, before the period expires in two days time.

·         That Akolade, be immediately arraigned before a magistrate court.

·         That the Lagos state CP immediately investigates the initial handling of the case by the IPO, at Aswani Police Station, in order to ensure, that on-going investigations into the matter is not in any way compromised.

Our heartfelt sympathy goes to the family of the deceased, as no action whatsoever, would bring back their much loved daughter, but at least it would save the lives of several others. This press conference marks the beginning of several other activities being planned on this case in particular, and domestic violence in general.

Thank you for coming.

Josephine Effah-Chukwuma

Executive Director, Project Alert/Coordinator GBVRN-Lagos