Nigerian authorities declared a ‘state of emergency’ on sexual and gender-based violence in 2020, as rape is such a prevalent human rights violation in the nation. Most survivors do not see justice, perpetrators are not prosecuted, and hundreds of cases aren’t even reported because of corruption, stigma, and victim blaming.
Girls with a disability are four times more likely to have experienced rape than their peers with no chronic disability.
Vulnerable girls like Simi.
Simi is only 18 years old and is hearing-impaired.
When she became pregnant, she could not talk about what had happened to her. So, she wrote down the name of the person that raped her.
Because of perceived shame and stigma, her family took her and her belongings to the man’s house. Here, she lived with him as her husband - but the man turned her into a punching bag.
He beat her and subjected her to all kinds of maltreatment.
He then abandoned her.
Simi gave birth in 2023 but, when she was breastfeeding, she had no food to eat.
Sometimes she would go for more than three days without food.
Simi struggles all alone, as the father is not taking responsibility to provide for her and their baby.
But Simi is now receiving support from the ACET Nigeria team. They are helping her access the National Human Rights Commission, in order to get financial support from the man who took advantage of her vulnerability.
Harmful gender relations are the foundation of violence against women and girls. With your help, ACET Nigeria is working hard with its communities to challenge these widely accepted social norms.
ACET Nigeria’s Children’s and Esteem clubs promote gender equality and tackle the custom of child marriage. The children learn that girls and boys are equal, can fulfil the same roles, and should have the same opportunities in education and life. They are empowered to delay sex, keep themselves safe, and have goals and aspirations.
ACET Nigeria also trains community leaders to be educators and safeguarding leads, and their “Better Parenting” courses tackle a culture of physical punishment and gender inequality in the home. Their “Toxic Masculinities” community training aims to break a cycle of gender-based violence.
Your support helps this to continue.
