Cross River, a subnational entity in the south southern geopolitical extraction of Nigeria, has been alleged to have a relatively high incidence of child(ren) neglect NEGROIDHAVEN can report authoritatively.
This disclosure is against the backdrop of the six (6) set of elements which constitute acts of violence against the/a child(ren), namely, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Neglect, Sexual abuse, and Exploitation; acronymised as PENSE.
According to Mr Kebe Ikpi the state coordinator of CPN, Neglect as an instance of violence against the child(ren) comprises amongst others the following: non-payment of school fees, denying children feeding, denying children access to clothing, denying access to clothing.
He said that, ‘Neglect is number one in Cross River, followed by exploitation, then, sexual abuse in that order.
‘In fact, if you check the Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, you will see that safety, shelter, comfort, love, all these basics are things people deliberately deny children and think it is ok.
‘For neglect, I normally tell people, when one of any of the item on the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is absent, neglect has happened. When all of the items on the Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs have been defied, abandonment has happened. So, you’ve thrown the child out to fend for themselves, no shelter, no feeding, no clothing, no healthcare, nothing. This differentiate between neglect and abandonment.
‘So, for neglect, the child still lives in your house but, probably eats your food but doesn’t go to school’, he explained.
Why Boropit was chosen as a pilot for child protection in C’River…
The Child Protection Network Nigeria, CPN has given insights into why it prioritised setting up the community based child protection team (Survellance Team) at Boropit, Satellite Town in Calabar as its pilot scheme.
The CPN formally inaugurated Community Child Protection team (Community Surveillance Team) on Friday, 14th April, 2023 at Ekpo Okon last bus stop, Boropit, satellite Town, Calabar because Boropit is located at the fringes of Calabar the state capital metropolis. Besides, Ikpi explained that the Boropit team was constituted by the Akim Surveillance Team together with the Calabar Municipality Network to help them access information about incidents of reported abuse.
His words, ‘We have had this engagement before where we came to sensitise the people about issues about abuse and violence against children and women, and we had told them that we will come back to establish a team and it is the responsibility of the community to determine who and who will form that team but, we gave them a criteria as to the persons to make up that team.
‘They got back to us that they are ready and here we are to inaugurate that community-based team that will feed to the local government and the state when it comes to child protection.
‘Boropit looks very, very detached so to speak from the main town and there then has been cases of abuse from here.’
According to Ikpi the membership of the surveillance team cuts across religious circle, vigilante, traditional and community leaders, youths, women, etc.
The responsibility of the team is triad, namely, to identify, document and refer reported cases of child abuses.
EDITORIAL
This story amongst others are reviewed on Sparkling 92.3FM http://sparklingfm.mixlr.com and FAD 93.1FM. Again, opinions expressed on NegroidHaven are exclusively the author’s not NH’s.
