Help to Stop Child Sexual Abuse in Nigeria

Title: Ensuring the best interest of the child

1. Cece Yara’s Safe Kids Awareness Training Programme (SKAP)

The Foundation trained 3582 children during the 4th quarter in various low income schools in Lagos State. The children were taught to identify their private parts, enforce body boundaries, case reporting, and use community resources to protect themselves from abuse. This includes children   in the Lagos State Correctional Center and school children in Nyanya community, Abuja. The children received training on body safety, coping skills from abuse, case reporting and establishing safe relationships.

1. Cece Yara’s Adult Awareness Training with Cummins Staff workforce

A total of 226 adults were trained during the last quarter of 2022 on the best practices of preventing and responding to child sexual abuse. This includes 115 members of the Cummins West Africa Ltd Lagos workforce. Cummins is a leading power generating company, on child protection and its referral pathways. With the training, Cummins has made it a priority to empower its members of staff across Nigeria to be change makers and gatekeepers in their communities and wherever they find themselves; 61 identified stakeholders in Nyanya and Guduwa communities of FCT Abuja were trained in ensuring child protection.

Annunciation Seminary old Boys Association family meeting

The Foundation implemented a capacity building training programme for the Association on child protection, parenting, survivor advocacy, support, and counselling for 50 adult members who made a firm commitment to ensuring child protection from sexual abuse on their various platforms.

Parents Webinar on managing stressors and triggers of trauma in children who have experienced child sexual abuse.

The Webinar hosted an estimated number of 48 parents who were given capacity building in managing the stressors and triggers in children who have experienced sexual abuse and were also harnessed to community resources to support their children to get healed and adjusted to living a normal post abuse life.

Media Advocacy as a Guest Speaker on Radio Maria Station 91.3 FM

The Cece Yara Abuja Team was a guest speaker on the Radio Maria Child Protection Program in Commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism 2022. The discussion was on Fighting against Child Sexual Abuse, our Collective Responsibility. The team had the opportunity to educate the public on the best practices of child protection including the child advocacy center model, utilization of the child helpline and harnessing resources. The Radio station has an audience reach of about 1million listeners who benefitted from the program.

International Day of the Girl Child

The Cece Yara Foundationadvocate that every Nigerian child is given an opportunity to be involved in life-changing initiatives including prioritizing child participation in matters concerning them. It was on this note that the Foundation implemented a Vox Pop to commemorate the 10^th Anniversary of the International day of the girl child in downtown Lagos which had about 2million views.

Facebook link to the video: https://fb.watch/iwAVef-1PX/

Instagram link to the video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjlA_-Qjb3w/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The Lagos Forensic Symposium

The Cece Yara Foundation made a presentation on "Child forensic interview as the best practice of investigating and prosecuting child sexual abuse cases" at the Lagos Forensic Symposium (LFS) 2022 with about 150 participants from different agencies in the criminal justice sector.

The forensic interview process aids survivor and witness identification, interviewing, and evidence collection. The utilization of anatomical dolls during the process is for purposes of clarification, consistency, distancing, and communication beyond verbal details. It yields forensically relevant details to corroborate evidence and facilitates the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases.

Webinar on curtailing Child Abuse in Schools

We served as a Panelist on a webinar hosted by Background Check International, where insights and recommendations were given on ensuring child protection schools. It was a public education platform for teachers and parents in the prevention and response to child abuse with about 140 participants.

WASCI Techsoup Exhibition

The Cece Yara Foundation was an Exhibitor at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WASCI) TechSoup Event. The event offered a platform for participants to discuss emerging technology trends, opportunities, and challenges for non-profit organizations, present special technology offers for non-profits, and create the space for connecting and strengthening partnerships between the non-profit. The Foundation also had a display of its book ‘’Bisi is the Boss’’ which is a resource to empower children on body safety.

Twitter Space Event- Nov 18

In commemoration of the first "World Day for Prevention of, and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Violence", the Cece Yara Foundation participated in a Twitter Space Conversation with other leading experts on "Assessing where we are and the way forward in Child Protection in Nigeria and globally". The conversation was a capacity-building forum for individuals, state agencies and parents to ensure the implementation of the best practices of child protection.

CPN 16 Days of Activism Walk

The Cece Yara Abuja Team collaborated with Child Protection Network and other child-focused organizations conducted an advocacy walk in Lagos and Abuja for sensitization on Violence against Women and Children and also how to report and seek help in commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism.

The Global Citizen Roadmap 36Townhall Meeting

The Townhall meeting was a platform for all stakeholders to deliberate on the impact of the Violence against Persons Prohibition Law, 2021 (VAPP Act) in response to SGBV. The Foundation’s Chief Legal Officer actively contributed to the dialogue and stated that implementing the Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) act had facilitated access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence, having widened the ambits and definition of violence with provisions of compensation for survivors. It was also noted that communities could support the Government in the implementation of the VAPP Act by ending negative sociocultural norms that aid violence and by being active bystanders in reporting cases of violence to preserve the lives and safety of survivors.

1. Media Advocacy with Plus TV Africa

The Cece Yara Foundation was a guest speaker on Plus TV Africa on the 1^st of July, 2022, to educate the citizenry on dealing with child molestation. Plus TV Africa is a Nigerian pan-African news channel owned by General News and Entertainment Company and broadcast across Africa via the StarTimes dish platform, on DSTV Channel 408   and on its YouTube channel. The TV station airs in over 30 countries with more than 12 million viewers across Africa.

2. Ceceyara’s Safe Kids Awareness Training Programme (SKAP)

The Foundation trained 2957 children during the 3^rd quarter in various schools in Lagos State. The children were taught to identify their private parts, enforce body boundaries, case reporting, and use community resources to protect themselves from abuse. Also, in collaboration with the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) of the Lagos State Ministry of Education, 4 low-income schools with a population of 1195 children benefitted from the training

3. Ceceyara’s Adult Awareness Training Programme

Seven hundred twenty-seven (727) adults were empowered on the Adults Awareness Programme through virtual and in-person engagements in schools, religious and corporate organizations. The adults were trained on an evidence-informed approach to their adult responsibilities to protect children. The adults were trained on the best practices for responding to and preventing child sexual abuse including harnessing community resources to protect children.

4. Ceceyara Partners with Teach for Nigeria (TFN) to train 359 Educators and Fellows

In collaboration with TFN, the Cece Yara Team trained 359 Fellows and Educators on Child Protection and Safeguarding at the 6th Pre-Service Training Institute organized by Teach for Nigeria. Participants now have a better understanding of the diverse ways children are exposed to danger, the need to pay attention to the children they will be working with, and the need t0 equip themselves with more profound knowledge of child protection to ensure the safety of every child within their vicinity.

5.The Foundation was invited and co-opted into the Brave Movement West African Task Force.

The African Union Survivors Task Force, supported by the Brave Movement, is committed to identifying, connecting, and mobilizing survivors, survivors’ networks, and organizations to build an African Union global community of survivors engaged in political activism.  The African Union Survivors Task Force is pioneering innovative new “pathways of engagement” so that survivors can take action in their own communities and countries and be connected as part of a global movement.

6. The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC)  Program of the EU/British Council

RoLAC visited the Foundation as part of its Year Five Annual Independent Expert Assessment to serve as the baseline for the European Union follow-up on the Programme, which will commence in the first quarter of next year with a particular focus on obtaining feedback on its support to the Foundation which will serve as a guide to its next phase of program implementation. The Foundation also participated in the RoLAC-funded launch of a Disability Toolkit in collaboration with the Albino Foundation to facilitate access to justice for survivors living with disabilities.

7. Ceceyara launches its Maiden Edition of its First Medical Responders Training

The Cece Yara Foundation just launched its maiden edition of the First Medical Responders Training in capacity–building for 216 pharmacists and medicine vendors on the dynamics of child sexual abuse, including knowing the short and long-term signs of abuse, case reporting, referral pathways for emergency interventions, and inter-agency collaboration. The aim is to empower them for referral of cases and enlightenment on emergency contraception, interventions for survivors of unsafe abortion and access to justice.

8. Official Launch of AMBER Alert

The Foundation participated in the official launch of the AMBER Alert Program on Facebook and Instagram by Meta in Partnership with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). The program is an emergency alert used by law enforcement in response to high-risk child abduction. It works by distributing information about the abducted child and a plea to the public for help finding the missing child.

9. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs Inaugural Steering Committee Meeting of the State of Nigeria Girls Summit (SONGS)

The Foundation was co-opted into the Nigeria Girl's Summit (SONGS) Steering Committee Meeting, which was convened to bring together relevant stakeholders committed to developing and advancing the girl child to form a common front and ensure a formidable force to break the barriers against the attainment of their potentials. During the meeting, the Terms of Reference (TOR) for committees developed by PLAN International and the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs were presented to participants. The Foundation was also made the lead organization for Lagos State to coordinate the child protection agencies in the State.

10. Ceceyara’s Volunteer Community

The foundation inducted a new team of passionate child advocates to facilitate its program services in increasing survivor support for children that have been abused, are at risk, and their non–offending families. The onboarding has augmented the Foundation’s reach to empowering children, adults, and communities. The induction instilled a deeper understanding of our program services and paved the way for aligning the volunteers with our cause.

11. Community Partnership with  TIKTOK

The Cece Yara team participated in an interactive workshop hosted by TikTok to educate NGOs on TikTok's approach to child safety. The training highlighted the safety features of the TikTok app and the channels by which NGOs like Cece Yara can flag content that might harm a person or a group of people. Essential issues ranging from Minor Safety, Mental Health, Suicide Self Harm, Digital literacy, Anti Gender-Based Violence, and Media Monitoring were covered in the partnership. With the partnership, the Foundation is now authorized to escalate any case of child sexual abuse on TikTok.