Despite improvements in the awareness and observance of children's rights as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, most parts of Africa have lagged far behind. There continues to be disproportionate maltreatment and lack of protection of children's rights compared to other regions in the world. This chapter explored childhood perceptions and experiences of their rights. The study explored several types of maltreatment encountered by children and the associated risk factors. Findings indicate notable recurrences of maltreatment among children and youth. These types of maltreatment included excessive child labour and exploitation, discrimination by family members, sexual and physical abuse, and voicelessness. The main associated risk factors were traditional paternalistic perceptions of childhood, poverty, living with non-biological caregivers, alcoholism, and substance abuse. The findings indicate a great need for awareness, prevention, and intervention initiatives aimed at curbing child abuse and neglect of children within communities.
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This chapter aimed at engendering a reflective engagement through a cultural lens, and a social justice perspective on the relationship between child maltreatment in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, and some traditionally held perceptions of childhood and the impact these may have on children's rights and social development. To achieve this, the study sought to understand how traditionally held perceptions of childhood influence the treatment of children, and what is needed to reduce child abuse and maltreatment. In the last two decades, there has been a growing global evidence base concerning child sexual abuse, with an estimated 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 having experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual abuse involving physical contact. Child sexual abuse usually occurs in places normally considered safe, such as homes, schools and churches, and at the hands of perpetrators who are known and trusted by the child or have authority over the child. Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a common type of child sexual abuse resulting from an increasingly globalised world driven by a multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry (Estes & Weiner, 2001). CSEC is considered to include child prostitution and child pornography. In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in the Developing World (Muntabhorn, 1992; ECPAT International 2007; Akmatov, 2011; Mekinc and Music 2015). It is noted that sexual exploitation of a child for remuneration in cash or kind is usually, but not always, organised by an intermediary parent, family member, procurer or teacher (Kevin, 2004). Studies from various countries suggest that sexual abuse of children is indeed an international crisis. In every locale where it has been examined, research has demonstrated its existence at levels high enough to warrant attention (WHO 2007; WHO 2016). Children are often abused and exploited in the home, school, or community, under forms of forced labour and prostitution in brothels (Unicef, 2001; ILO 2016). While physical and sexual abuse tends to have overwhelming evidence and coverage in this chapter, there is also an examination of emotional abuse, whose scars often go unacknowledged. Emotional abuse may involve neglectful or passive behaviours towards an individual, and/or intentional cruel and observable rejection of an individual (Briggs and Hawkins 1996). The chapter explored these types of abuses to establish the depth of the crisis and to consider possible remedies for affected African children whose well-being is critical to Africa's competitiveness in the future.