Children’s Day: Raquel launches book on sexual abuse, body safety

Child molestation, abuse, kidnapping and murder have become commonplace in Nigeria; hence, there is a need for the stakeholders across the country to rise up to these challenges.

Earlier this year, a five-year-old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar, from Kano State, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by her teacher.

In another development, an eight-year-old girl was also kidnapped and killed by her abductor in the country.

Also, in remote and conflict-affected communities, girls are lured and raped while clueless children are abused by people meant to protect them.

In response to this, the Co-founder of Bambini Africa, Raquel Kasham Daniel, through Bambini Books has launched, ‘The Alphabet Book on Body Safety,’ to increase awareness of sexual abuse and safety among children.

The book is designed to help children easily understand abuse and ways to protect themselves as well as report the incident if they are ever abused.

The book helps children go through the 26 letters of the Alphabet, teaching them about body autonomy, consent, safe and unsafe touch; the difference between secrets and surprises, and the power of their voice.

On the inspiration behind the book, Daniel said, “Sexual violence against children has always existed. Just because this has become the norm doesn’t mean we should fold our arms and do nothing or even talk about it, especially as preliminary data shows that the number of victims from abuse increased exponentially during the COVID-19 lockdown.”

This colourful storybook would empower children to respond to sexual abuse and also learn how to harness the power in their voices, to speak up against sexual abuse in school and at home.

“My niece who happens to be the main character in the book responded so well when asked what she learned. The book is a great way to make the conversation around abuse easy to understand for children.” Daniel added.