Okeahialam T C
Child Abuse Negl. 1984;8(1):69-73. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(84)90051-6.
Although child abuse occurs in Nigeria, it has received little attention. This is probably due to the emphasis placed on the more prevalent childhood problems of malnutrition and infection. Another possible reason is the general assumption that in every African society the extended family system always provides love, care and protection to all children. Yet there are traditional child rearing practices which adversely affect some children, such as purposeful neglect or abandonment of severely handicapped children, and twins or triplets in some rural areas. With the alteration of society by rapid socioeconomic and political changes, various forms of child abuse have been identified, particularly in the urban areas. These may be considered the outcome of abnormal interactions of the child, parents/ guardians and society. They include abandonment of normal infants by unmarried or very poor mothers in cities, increased child labour and exploitation of children from rural areas in urban elite families, and abuse of children in urban nuclear families by childminders . Preventive measures include provision of infrastructural facilities and employment opportunities in the rural areas in order to prevent drift of the young population to the cities. This would sustain the supportive role of the extended family system which is rapidly being eroded. There is need for more effective legal protection for the handicapped child, and greater awareness of the existence of child abuse in the community by health and social workers.
虽然尼日利亚存在虐待儿童的现象，但这一问题几乎未受到关注。这可能是由于人们更重视儿童中更为普遍的营养不良和感染问题。另一个可能的原因是，人们普遍认为在每个非洲社会，大家庭制度总能为所有儿童提供关爱、照料和保护。然而，有些传统的育儿方式会对一些儿童产生不利影响，比如在某些农村地区故意忽视或遗弃重度残疾儿童、双胞胎或三胞胎。随着社会因快速的社会经济和政治变革而发生变化，各种形式的虐待儿童行为已被发现，尤其是在城市地区。这些行为可被视为儿童、父母/监护人及社会之间异常互动的结果。它们包括城市中未婚或非常贫困的母亲遗弃正常婴儿、城市精英家庭中童工现象增加以及对农村地区儿童的剥削，还有保姆对城市核心家庭中儿童的虐待。预防措施包括在农村地区提供基础设施和就业机会，以防止年轻人口涌入城市。这将维持正迅速受到侵蚀的大家庭制度的支持作用。需要为残疾儿童提供更有效的法律保护，并且卫生和社会工作者要让社区更清楚地认识到虐待儿童现象的存在。
