The Defence and Police Officers’ Association (DEPOWA) has called for support to check sexual abuse in barracks.
President of the association, Mrs Oghogho Musa, made the call in Abuja at a seminar organised to commemorate her first year in office.
She said the choice of hosting barracks teens and youths was deliberate, adding that topics for the seminar were carefully chosen to enlighten the community.
“The menace of sexual exploitation and abuse is prevalent in our society, many occurrences go unreported and the barracks community and environs are not exempted. Today, we have an opportunity to discuss this and we echo the voice of Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary General in stating that sexual exploitation and abuse have no place in our society.
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“We recognise the severity of the consequences and aim to work towards reducing its prevalence within our communities and immediate environs. We also thought it necessary to sensitise the youth on the menace of drug abuse and how to avoid it so they can have a promising future. In all of these, it is important to know who you are, what you want to achieve in life and develop some personal values that would guide you into achieving your goals,” she said as she urged the youths to adopt the lessons from the sessions into their daily living.
She pledged her unwavering support to any victim who reports any form of sexual exploitation or attempt to be initiated into the use of illicit substances within the barracks.
“We call on the appropriate authorities to investigate and address same when any of these is reported. Indeed, perpetrators ought to be held accountable,” she added.
Chairman of the seminar planning committee, Mrs Isabella Okosun, said the prevalence of sexual abuse necessitated the need to for the sensitization effort.
She said youths were more vulnerable to sexual and drug abuse, hence the need to equip them with the necessary knowledge.
One of the resource persons, Dr Chika Anozie, said alcohol, illicit drugs and substance abuse have negative impact on young people.
Dr Olajumoke Jenyo, who presented a paper titled “Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Prevention and Response”, said that two of every 10 male children had been sexually abused.
