Alarm has been raised about consistent increase in the number of male minors raped by adult sexual perverts in Rivers State.
A report by an international Non-Governmental Organization, Medical Doctors without Borders, entitled: “Port Harcourt Sexual Violence Project” showed that there has been consistent increase in the numbers of male patients of rape since 2016.
The documents said the organization attended to 26 cases in 2016; 30 in 2017 and 52 in 2018.
Health Project Officer of Doctors Without Borders, Nurse Amaka Ndidi, said the organization was open to assist both children and adult men who have been sexually assaulted.
She said they were ready to help through counseling and also getting medical report that could assist in the prosecution offenders.
“It’s very dicey and difficult to get a clear evidence or sure witnesses in court because, it’s the minor that is involved. And it is assumed that a minor cannot just open up and tell you the detailed information about sexual activity.
“As such, once we take into account his assessment we write everything down. After this, if the parents decide to take legal action against the offender, we link them up.”Nurse Amaka Ndidi assured.
In June 2019, a community health educator for Doctors Without Borders, Orogbum Health Centre, Veronica Uweh, raised an alarm that her organisation was recording 120 cases of rape every month, on the average, and that 70-80% of the victims were below 15 years.
Uweh said then that the number of those who agreed to come out to report at the health centre were far less than the ones who were too shy to come out.
“We give free and confidential treatment to rape victims for the first three days that the incident happened. We give medical treatment to prevent HIV infection and also prevention for sexually transmitted infection (STI) including Hepatitis B and prevention of unintended pregnancy”, she informed.
