Statistics show more boys are being raped - Gender-Based Violence expert reveals

Dr Sodipo Oluwajimi said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Friday on the sideline of a training programme organised for healthcare providers by Stand Up Against Rape Initiative.

Oluwajimi who works at Nigeria’s Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, stressed that young boys also face rape, incest, sexual abuse and homosexuality in the country.

“It is not only girls or women alone who face GBV.

“Both women and men experience violence but the majority of victims are women and girls. The perpetrators of GBV are predominantly men and the victims are most frequently women.

“Historical perspective shows that more concentration is placed on women when it comes to GBV,” NAN quotes him as having said.

He went on further to add: “However, statistics show that boys also get exposed to violence, especially rape.”

Dr Oluwajimi described GBV as any act done to someone against their will as a result of gender norms and unequal power relationships.

He revealed that emerging data show that many men and boys are also survivors of GBV, but they choose to suffer in silence for fear of being stigmatized when they speak out.

He called for concerted efforts against the canker, adding sensitization campaigns should no more be limited to sexual violence against females but should include both genders.