In response to the high incidence of
sexual assault, rape and human trafficking occurring amongst young girls
and women across Nigeria, Women At Risk International Foundation
(WARIF), recently opened its doors to victims of abuse. The centre is
meant to be a safe haven for survivors of abuses, writes Mary Ekah
To ensure that all young girls and women
live in a society free of rape and sexual violence, an ultra-modern
crisis centre, called Women At Risk International Foundation (WARIF)
officially opened its
flagship centre in Lagos recently. Working in
collaboration with Washington DC Rape Crisis Centre, USA to achieve its
aims, the Centre’s recent opening is the first of many initiatives that
will be set up by the foundation towards achieving its goals.
Incorporated in 2016 by Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, a very well educated and
influential doctor who has dedicated her life to working for the women
of Nigeria. WARIF, a non-profit organisation, was established to raise
awareness and advocate against the increasing prevalence of sexual
violence amongst women and young girls of all ages and its consequences.
DaSilva-Ibru said that being a specialist
obstetrician and gynaecologist with decades of experience had exposed
her to the devastating effects of sexual violence especially among women
and young girls whom she prefers to refer to as ‘Survivors’ rather than
‘victims’. The doctor who revealed that her youngest child (victim)
treated is about two years of age while she also has a young mother who
is just over 11 years of age, both of whom are survivors of sexual abuse
by those close to them, noted, that in spite of inadequate data, the
anecdotal figures are staggering which is why WARIF is set up with the
primary responsibility to address this high incidence of this concern
with the development and implementation of intervention and preventive
initiatives; the first of which is WARIF Centre.
She stressed that there was a high
incidence of sexual violence against women with only a few well-equipped
centres to effectively offer survivors the physical and psychological
attention needed especially within the first 72 hours as well as their
long-term social support. “These effects are both immediate with health
and psychosocial risks to the victims as well as in the long-term
societal problems that subsequently occur such as poverty, illiteracy,
unemployment and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases,” she noted.
She explained further that the services
rendered by WARIF will add to the existing number of sexual assault
referral centres already existing who are doing a thorough and
commendable job in assisting these survivors in getting back on their
feet.
“We are at the moment collaborating with
the Ministry of Justice and I was privileged to have a conversation with
the coordinator of the Lagos State Domestic Violence and Sexual
Violence Response Team (DVSRT) and they have a wonderful structure in
place where all the committees are well represented, including the law
enforcement and the office of the public defender.
So I think we all have work to do to
address this problem, as it should be,” she noted. WARIF, she said, is
bringing initiatives that will be effective, it is bringing a structure
that can be added to the already existing structures to improve on the
work noting that WARIF is here to stay.
Asked what the Foundation was going to do
to break the culture of silence on sexual violence and sexual abuse,
DaSilva-Ibru said, “We have not broken it and so I think we need more
dialogue, conversation, awareness and I think it should start with
centres like WARIF where women can come knowing that it is safe haven,
knowing that their confidentiality is assured and that they are safe
from the public places and then this will give them that self-esteem to
go out there to tell their stories and raise the awareness so that we
can address this properly.”
The facility, she said, is basically
meant for girl and women, while also expressing the hope that it will
expand to encompass the boy-child and men as well who obviously are also
suffering abuses.
“Presently, our focus is on the
girl-child. From my personal experience, I have seen a two and five
years old girls who were abused and the youngest pregnant child I have
seen is 11 years old. So this centre is well equipped to deal with
children as young as between 2-8 years old and above,” she noted.
From Psycho-socio stand point, she said
there was also training available by the Washington DC Rape Crisis
Centre to handle cases of children as well as their mothers, adding,
“When you have cases such as that, it is not enough to treat and care of
the child, you also have to care and treat the mothers and caregivers.
“Children are the very heart of what
WARIF is trying to do and what we are going to do from January next year
with help from Dr. Indira Henard of the Washington DC Rape Crisis
Centre, is to build a programme that goes to school to train teachers
and even the children on how to call a spade, a spade –… because some of
these things are lost because the children cannot express themselves
with the right words. So education is key even from that stage and even
for parents. It is so heartbreaking that even adults and teenagers are
not able to come forward because they do not know what is happening to
them. And in terms of infection and treatment there is a dedicated
laboratory that would take care of that,” she said.
She noted further that one of the things
that would be on the offering at the centre would be a 24–hour-7-day
crisis call centre, adding, “so we hope that a child or young lady who
has a rape issue would have access to these numbers and then call
immediately and then we can tell them to come to the centre for
treatment and counseling.”
She was quick to add that gender-based
violence is not just about sex but that is about gender-based
inequality. “It is about the way in which the boy-child is grown with
entitlements while the girl-child is brought up sitting and living in
the kitchen; being grown not to talk back while he has the entitlement
to do so. It is about bringing up our children with that gender-based
equality because rape is about struggle of power and domination; it is
more than just a sexual act. So if we can bring up our children in that
spirit of gender equality and love in a community that is more
consenting, I think a lot more would be achieved,” she said.
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