Although the theme of the 2017 edition of Children’s Day was “Child Protection and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Issues and Opportunities,” half of Nigerian children sadly still experience physical violence and the shameful phenomenon is prevalent across the 36 states of Nigeria. Evidence from 2011 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) shows that in Nigeria, 91 percent of children age 2-14 years have been subjected to at least one form of psychological or physical punishment by their mothers/caretakers or other household members. More importantly, 34 percent of children were subjected to severe physical punishment. On the other hand, 61 percent of mothers/caretakers believed that children should be physically disciplined. Also, media reports state that the findings of the 2014 Nigeria violence against children survey conducted by the National Population Commission with the support of the United Centres for Disease Control and UNICEF, show that approximately six out of every 10 children experience some form of violence.
Read more: https://guardian.ng/opinion/children-as-victims-of-violence/