Boys Are Also Sexually Abused
Male victims of sexual assault are largely neglected in our society. Majority of sexual assault are perpetrated by the men, but the real fact is that one out of every 10 men is a victim of sexual assault either by a man or by a woman. Males are being abused in our society and it’s not being addressed because our society fails to see that men can be victims of abuse, men find it difficult to seek help and support even at a very tender age.
Whenever rape is mentioned, what usually comes to the mind of people is a man taking advantage of a woman. Why does no one care to talk about male rape? About sexual victimization? Why are men expected to just remain calm and pretend as if they enjoy being abused? Children are being abused every second; right under our nose, just like the case of a 12-year-old boy in Abuja who was sodomized by a pharmacist with the National Hospital Abuja, but was lucky for his mother to have noticed that something had gone wrong, who probed and got details of how the evil was done. Kudos to operatives of National Agency for the prohibition of Trafficking in Person’s (NAPTIP).
Another incident is the case of a four years old boy who was being abused by a 24 years old maid identified as Esther. She was arrested by the police in Rivers State. Esther’s secret act was disclosed to the doctor when the boy was taken to the hospital due to the pain the boy had started having in his private organ.
A lot is happening in our world, males are being sexually assaulted every second, people are beginning to talk about it but a lot still need to be done. These boys and men live through the years with memories that leave them disturbed and that’s if the rapist even let them live. There is no excuse for sexual abuse, anyone can be a victim, let’s be vigilant and sensitive to happenings around us, no one can be trusted.
We call on the authorities and Nigerian Government to help curb the menace. This is a wake-up call to parents to protect their boy-child too because the perpetrators are everywhere, we are not to leave them with female or male caregiver without proper attention and monitoring.
Let’s protect the boy-child, boys are also sexually abused. Grace O.Abu, Program Assistant, Women & Children’s Safety Program Cal-maji Foundation