SEX FOR FOOD IN IDP CAMPS
The authorities must put an end to the impunity in the camps
Africa is regarded as the continent with the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and Nigeria has long been rated among the three countries where most of these vulnerable people are found. But the real concern is the latest report by a civil society organisation, Global Rights Nigeria, which exposed sexual abuse behind the walls and tents of these IDP camps. Titled ‘Sexual Violence and the Hidden Agony of Nigeria’s Displaced Women and Girls’, the report revealed how access to food, clean water, medicine, or a place to sleep “is often conditioned on sex.” The perpetrators, according to the report, “are rarely strangers,” but those entrusted with the survivors’ care. They include camp officials, security agents, aid workers, or even fellow displaced persons.
It is unacceptable and criminal for security personnel and aid workers, whose primary task is to guard and provide support for the displaced persons, to turn around and be demanding sexual gratifications from women and girls in exchange for food, money, and other favours. But with thousands of people reportedly sleeping outside in the open and living in extremely deplorable conditions, it is easy for predators to take advantage of their plight.
In an August 2016 report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur who visited IDP camps in the Maiduguri area, recounted the same situation. “Camps should offer protection. Yet I am alarmed to learn that many are in fact the settings for exploitation and abuse of the most vulnerable,” the UN envoy had stated, an indication that nothing has changed. “Reports indicate that women and girls face demand for sex to access food or to leave the camps.” Early pregnancy and marriage were commonplace while many did not report abuse due to stigmatisation and cultural factors, among others.
Though we acknowledge the limitations of government, we must find ways to ameliorate the problems of the most vulnerable of our society. We appeal to all critical stakeholders to help in tackling the diminishing quality of life in the IDP camps and the exploitation by those who ordinarily should ensure that. There are also health and other issues. Some of the people in these camps suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders, and an increased rate of infectious diseases. Many children born in the camps do not have access to education, placing their future at risk. Hunger is rife as shelter, clothing and water are essential commodities. For instance, it is common knowledge that relief materials meant for the IDPs have been diverted to the open markets for sale to the public by many of these officials. Also notorious is the fact of misappropriation of funds meant for the relief of the displaced persons.
But the issue of sexual exploitation deserves immediate attention. “What is unfolding in Nigeria’s IDP camps is a widespread, systemic failure, one that has normalised coercion and buried the cries of survivors beneath layers of fear, shame, and neglect,” according to Global Rights. First, we must highlight the factor of impunity. There’s really no reason for the abuse to stop since no one gets punished for it. Second, this is a systemic problem. Available statistics on sexual and gender-based violence across the country reveals its pervasive nature while very few states commit resources to helping victims to secure justice.
The Global Rights report should be investigated with all the culprits apprehended and brought to justice.
