Tackling Violence, Abuse and Neglect

SSN promotes and defends the right for all children to be free from violence, abuse and neglect in the Niger Delta. This has developed since SSN’s inception in 2005 and has grown out of the organisation’s guiding principles to defend the rights of abandoned street children who have been accused of witchcraft.

Poverty, family disintegration, urbanisation, disease and conflict, have led to many children in the region ending up on the streets. Street children face physical abuse from the police and the public, and may be tortured, beaten, and sexually abused.

In recent years, many children in the Niger Delta have been accused of witchcraft or demon possession. SSN believes that the full spectrum of support is needed to help these children and street children in the Niger Delta, from outreach to clothes and food, to providing legal support and medical treatment. We also believe that advocacy and lobbying to change attitudes, laws and practices is a key way forward to prevent the abuse of child rights in the region.  

 

The main areas in which SSN works are:  

1. Developing the capacity of local organisations to understand child rights, apply best practice when working with children and function effectively

 2. Working with local child rights organisations to raise awareness of child rights laws and principles, including through the PACT campaign, in order to encourage positive changes in attitudes and behaviour towards children

3. Working with organisations we recognise as having expertise in working with street children and encourage best practice models for working with this marginalised group

4. Working with local partners to enable all children who have experienced violence, abuse and neglect to receive legal redress

5. Partnering with local child rights organisations to deliver direct support to children who have experienced violence, abuse or neglect

6. Contributing to the evidence base surrounding the causes of violence, abuse and neglect of children, including work on disabilities, child witchcraft and sexual abuse, and

7. Publicising key issues about violence, abuse and neglect of children in the Niger Delta at the local, national, regional and international levels where possible.     

Stepping Stones Nigeria is a member of the: