The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF says more needs to be done to protect the rights of Nigerian girls against violence.
It says the call became necessary as the world marks 25 years since the historic Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to advance women’s and girl’s rights.
In a new report entitled “A New Era for Girls: Taking stock on 25 years of progress”, UNICEF revealed that violence against women and girls is still common, despite significant gains in education globally.
According to UNICEF Communication Specialist, Mr. Geoffrey Njoku, “Globally, one in every 20 adolescent girls aged 15–19 years totaling around 13 million has experienced forced sex, one of the most violent forms of sexual abuse women and girls can suffer. In Nigeria, 1 in 4 girls has suffered sexual violence. Yet, very few of them seek professional help, preferring to keep their abuse secret. In Nigeria, only 2 percent of girls aged 15–19 years who ever experienced forced sex sought help from professionals”.
International Women’s Day 2020 campaign theme is #EachforEqual. An equal world is an enabled world.
It means that collectively, each one of us can help create a gender-equal world.
Source: VON
