Enugu govt rescues banished teenager allegedly impregnated by father
The teenager was banished from the community alongside her father on Thursday. The post Enugu govt rescues banished teenager allegedly impregnated by father appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Cases of incest and sexual abuse within families remain under-reported in many Nigerian communities, where victims are sometimes stigmatised or expelled rather than the accused perpetrators facing sanction. Such banishments, often justified as traditional purification rites to cleanse the community of a taboo, have drawn criticism from child rights advocates who argue they punish survivors twice — first through the abuse itself, and then through social exclusion — while shielding offenders from formal justice.
State ministries for social welfare and gender affairs across Nigeria, including Enugu's, are mandated to intervene in such cases by providing shelter, counselling and access to the justice system for minors in distress. The coverage so far indicates the teenager and her father were cast out of their community together, and that government action followed public outcry, but details on the father's whereabouts, any criminal charges, and the long-term care plan for the girl have not yet been reported.