Group laments increasing trend of child sexual abuse, pornography

The Society to Heighten Awareness of Women and Children Abuse (SOTHAWACA), an NGO, has decried what it described as "increasing trend of child sexual abuse and pornography in the society."

Ronke Ojeikere, Initiator of SOTHAWACA, said in Benin on Monday, that more worrisome was an increasing trend of images depicting toddlers and infants sexual abuse.

She said "victims of child pornography suffer not just from the sexual abuse inflicted upon them to produce child pornography but also from knowing that their images can be traded and viewed by others worldwide.

"Once an image is on the internet, it is irretrievable and can continue to circulate forever. The permanent record of a child´s sexual abuse can alter the victims' psyche forever.

"Many victims of child pornography suffer from helplessness, fear, humiliation and the lack of control, given that their images are available for others to view."

She, therefore, called for urgent equipping of children with the right knowledge of what sexual abuse is, and the need to speak out against such acts.

According to her, it is important that parents teach their children all sorts of ways to keep safe.

She said "we teach them to look both ways before they cross the road, but more often than not, body safety is not taught until much older, which may be too late.

"It is estimated that one in six boys and one in four girls is sexually abused before the age of 18.

"Also, only 10 per cent of perpetrators are strangers to the child and 23 per cent are children themselves" she said.