Mrs. Chioma Okeke, Founder, Shoulder for Gender Support and Development, on Friday blamed high rate of rape and sexual assaults on poor parenting.
Okeke told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka that many parents prioritised upbringing of the girl-child and neglected that of the male child.
She was reacting to the circumstances that led to the death of Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a first year student of the Department of Microbiology, University of Benin.
Omozuwa was alleged to have been raped and her head smashed with a fire extinguisher at a Pentecostal church in Benin, which consequently led to her death.
Okeke said: “The increasing cases of rape, sexual assault and killing of our girls is becoming worrisome.
“I want to blame it on poor parenting.
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“As parents, we have dwelt so much on raising the girl-child to promote their self-efficacy, competence, well-being, and self-esteem, which will help them to become less likely targets for any form of abuse.
“But we neglected our sons by not providing them with appropriate moral and responsible thinking; now we are seeing the result. Many of them have grown wild with no self-control.
“If we want to tackle this menace in our society, we need to start from the homes.”
She said that parents must be proactive in discussing issues of rape and sexual assault with their children – both boys and girls.
Okeke said that relevant stakeholders should take urgent actions to nip the menace in the bud.
She urged law enforcement agencies to ensure that victims of rape and sexual violence would get justice.
