… As YCISI ends five-day SGBV awareness campaign with call for stronger child protection
Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) remains a serious threat to the safety and wellbeing of children, with abuse sometimes happening in places and through relationships where children are expected to feel safest.
Beyond the physical harm, SGBV can leave children carrying fear, confusion and shame, particularly when they are unable to speak or when adults fail to take their concerns seriously.
It is against this backdrop that the Young Child In School Initiative (YCISI), the flagship programme of Event Diary Lifestyle, has joined the awareness drive with a five-day SGBV Check challenge, using the voices of advocates and professionals to encourage conversations around prevention, child protection and speaking up against abuse.
The campaign seeks to remind parents, guardians, teachers, communities and other adults that protecting children is not a responsibility that begins after abuse occurs. It starts with listening, education, vigilance and creating safe spaces where children can speak.
One of the voices joining the campaign is Amina Omoike, a Media/PR Practitioner and Family Coach, who is drawing attention to one of the most important aspects of child protection: listening when a child speaks.
For Amina, a child's voice may not always come in the form of a clear disclosure. It may be a simple statement such as, “I don't like going there.” It may also be “He touched me,” “She told me not to tell anyone,” or simply, “Stop.”
She said adults must learn to pay attention because a child's voice, although sometimes soft, hesitant or fragmented, can be a cry for help.
Reflecting on the recent disturbing allegations involving an Onitsha-based woman accused of sexually abusing her minor daughter, Amina said the case should make society reflect on how seriously adults take children's safety.
The journalist said she chose not to watch the viral video connected to the case, despite hearing about its disturbing content, but noted that the incident raised questions that go beyond one individual case.
According to her, many children do not remain silent because they have nothing to say. They may be afraid that nobody will believe them, threatened by an abuser or ashamed of what has happened. And sometimes, she said, children speak but adults fail to listen.
She further warned against dismissing children's concerns as childish behaviour or immediately questioning why a child went somewhere, sat with someone or failed to speak earlier. Such responses, she noted, can shift responsibility from the perpetrator to the child.
Amina explained that children may not have the vocabulary or emotional maturity to describe sexual abuse.
Instead of saying, “I have been sexually abused,” a child may make an unusual statement about an adult's behaviour, become withdrawn or suddenly develop a fear of someone.
A child's school performance may change. They may resist visiting a particular house or become unusually fearful, aggressive or quiet.
While such signs do not automatically prove abuse, Omoik said they should not be ignored. Listening, she stressed, means paying attention to both words and behaviour.
When a child raises a concern about inappropriate touching, sexual behaviour, threats or anything that makes them feel unsafe, Omoike said the first response should be safety rather than disbelief.
She encouraged adults to use reassuring words such as, “Thank you for telling me,” “I believe you,” “You did the right thing by telling me,” and “You are not in trouble.”
However, she cautioned that listening does not mean interrogating a child or attempting to investigate an abuse allegation without appropriate guidance.
The priority, she said, should be protecting the child, creating a safe environment for disclosure and seeking appropriate professional assistance.
She also warned that an alleged perpetrator may be someone the family knows and trusts—a relative, neighbour, teacher, religious leader, family friend or another respected person.
That familiarity, she said, should never become a reason to place an adult's reputation above a child's safety.
Amina called for age-appropriate conversations with children about their bodies, personal boundaries, consent and safe and unsafe behaviour.
Children should know that their bodies belong to them and that they have the right to reject inappropriate touching.
They should also understand that uncomfortable requests involving touching, photographs, gifts or conversations should not be kept secret.
For parents and guardians, she recommended moving beyond routine questions such as “How was school?” and asking children whether anything happened during the day that made them uncomfortable. But, she stressed, asking is only useful when adults are prepared to listen.
If children believe that their feelings will be dismissed, judged or blamed, they may choose silence when they most need help.
The five-day SGBV Check campaign by YCISI is aimed at keeping child protection within public conversation and encouraging adults to recognise their role in preventing abuse.
Through the campaign, YCISI is lending its voice to the broader fight against SGBV while encouraging parents, guardians, schools, communities and institutions to take children's safety seriously.
For Amina, the message is simple but urgent: adults must stop dismissing, defending or explaining away children's concerns.
Every child deserves to know that when something happens to them, they can speak and expect to be heard, protected and supported. Sometimes, she said, listening is the first step towards saving a child.
