•Pregnant women in IDP camp
Borno traditional rulers, lawyers and government officials have decried alleged rampant child pregnancy and unsafe abortions in Internally Displaced (IDP) camps in Maiduguri, Borno.
This was revealed at a two-day stakeholders’ dialogue, organised by the Grassroots Researchers Association (GRA) with the support of We are not Weapons of War (WWoW) in Maiduguri over the weekend.
The dialogue brought together 500 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, traditional rulers, lawyers, government officials and development partners in search of lasting solutions, reports Daily Trust.
A traditional ruler and chairman of EYN IDPs Camp in Jerusalem, Wulari area, Maiduguri, Mr John Gwoma, regretted how minors and innocent young girls are quietly selling sex and aborting their pregnancy in the camp.
“Men from the town will come in big cars, carry these small girls and impregnate them. As a result, we now have rampant cases of unsafe abortions in the camp.
“The female toilets have turned into butchery, frequently covered with blood. These girls will enter the toilet, terminate pregnancy and leave the foetus inside,” he said.
Corroborating his story, a female facilitator, Zaynab Abdallah, said the juvenile sex trade and feticide are flourishing in Maiduguri.
She said some of the teenage girls and underage girls were engaging in prostitution to raise money to feed their families.
“Parents should fear God. Most of them are fully aware of what the children are doing, but stay quiet due to the material gain.
“Apart from the economic hardship, sex has become part of their lives, and you can’t stop them, no matter how hard you try. And, when they get pregnant, they abort it quietly to avoid stigma,” she said.
During the session, survivors and stakeholders shared painful stories of rape, juvenile sex and how poverty is forcing women into prostitution.
They also shared success stories on how the awareness campaign carried out by the GRA broke the survivors’ stigma and improved their access to justice.
The Executive Director of GRA, Mr Friday Bitrus, said the valuable feedback gathered from stakeholders would be used to produce a call-to-action document and push for advocacy.
