In Nigeria, I Am The BOMB. About 1 in 10 girls under the age of 20 have been forced to engage in sex or perform other sexual acts. It shows that cases involving minors targeted for sexual abuse by men have been on the rise in Nigeria. However, this rise in sexual violence against children during the Covid-19 pandemic became alarming as no fewer than 3,600 cases of rape were reported in Nigeria during the lockdown.
Following the increased rape incidents during the Locked-down in Nigeria, the AOA Foundation carefully thought of a way to protect and educate children about the increased sexual abuse and harassment. Therefore, the project; Sexual Abuse Prevention & Education for Kids (SAPEK) was initiated during this period. The project uses Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials developed by the Foundation to increase knowledge and awareness of sexual abuse and harassment among children and teach children and teenagers sexual social and physical boundaries.
The IEC material is a comprehensive guide to sexual abuse prevention, using musicals and animation to help children assimilate faster and better. It passes across the step-by-step safety tips and exposes impending dangers and operations of the paedophiles to these children.
In Nigeria, I Am The BOMB
The materials are published to suit various ages without ambiguity for younger children. Children between the ages of 3-9 have the IEC called My body, my own, while the children between the ages of 10-16 use Boss Of My Body (BOMB). The Foundation has visited schools, orphanages, IDP camps, and religious groups to enlighten the children and caretakers while donating copies of these materials for continuity.
AOA Foundation has published over a thousand copies of the BOMB and My body, my own to be used at schools, religious groups, children’s groups, and gatherings to increase knowledge and awareness of sexual abuse and harassment and reduce the occurrence of this sexual harassment among children. AOA Foundation hopes for government buy-in and inclusion of these IEC materials into the school curriculum under the Physical and Health education syllabus.