Child Abuse in Nigeria: Film as the Window of Advocacy and Information

Abstract

The unexplainable rise of child abuse in Nigeria in recent times has drawn concerns many people from all walks of life. Almost on daily basis, children are maltreated and subjected to all forms of inhumane/ dehumanizing treatments by those who are supposed to protect, love, and care for them. These abuses range from- emotional, Psychological, physical, child trafficking, child marriages, kidnapping, ritual killings, beating, maiming, torture, to mention but a few. We provided insight into this ugly phenomenon in Nigeria by bringing to the fore the fundamental human rights of every child including the provisions of the Child’s Rights Act; we also defined who a child is, what child abuse is, causes and effects of abuse on children; we established the importance of film in curbing and addressing this menace by looking at studies that have been conducted on child abuse and films in Nigeria. We found thatchild abuse and film are under researched areas, and that very few studies have exposed the importance of film in addressing the issue of child abuse in Nigeria. Our study therefore recommended the massive use of film by Nollywood filmmakers in raising awareness on the ills of child abuse in Nigeria, as well as call for the use of film to address the issue of non-enforcement of the Child’s Rights Act of 2003 in Nigeria.