10-month and 70 year-old among 737 people rescued by sexual assault centre

The Mirabel Centre has provided no fewer than 737 sexual violence survivors with free, holistic and quality services.

The first sexual assault referral centre in Nigeria catered to survivors made up of 16 male minors, one sodomised adult male and 720 females.

The figures were made known by Managing Partner, Partnership of Justice (PJ), Mrs. Itoro Eze -Anaba, at a media briefing to mark the Centre’s two years of support to survivors of sexual assault.

She however regretted the absence of reliable data to determine the number of cases of the sexually- abused in the country.

She noted that before the centre came on board with funding from the British Council, absence of reliable and verifiable data and lack of support services for victims remained one of the biggest challenges in seeking justice for survivors of sexual assault in the country.

But with the establishment of the centre, many of the survivors now utilise the services of the centre, with some of them referred by the police, hospitals, Civil Society Organisations and government agencies.

Survivors, according to Eze-Anaba include, the youngest at 10 months and the oldest at 70 years old.

She further said the centre has visited over 40 schools in Lagos State with a view to equipping teachers and students with the skills to become change agents in the community.

This has created more awareness about rape and sexual assault and has encouraged more victims to speak out and seek help.