According to the UNICEF 6 out of 10 children in Nigeria experience some form of violence before they turn 18. Of that number 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 10 boys is a victim of sexual abuse. 

 
Welcome! 
My name is Ony Anukem; I'm a 22 year old British self-shooting multimedia journalist about to embark on my first independent international documentary called 'Behind Closed Doors' in Nigeria. I’m currently at Healthista.com , and before this I worked as a trainee news reporter at Media Trust where I was part of team that presented, produced and edited a show called London Undercover .

The Topic 
Child Sex Abuse (CSA) is a violent crime committed behind closed doors and often goes unnoticed or unspoken about for a whole host of different reasons but the primary reason being that children usually are not capable of speaking out about their abuse. Sadly, this powerlessness and victimhood often follows people long after the abuse ends into adulthood and causes difficulty in relationship (school, work, friendships, family, romantic etc.). Official statistics of CSA are inaccurate as many cases go unreported or unpunished because of fear, shame and ignorance.

In this documentary I am going to follow the stories of several survivors of CSA, including Ayodeji Osowobi – a young Nigerian woman who survived CSA and has gone on to set up S.T.E.R (Stand To End Rape).
This is a youth-led Not-for-Profit Organization advocating against sexual violence. Here she recounts her earliest recollection of CSA:

 “On this fateful day, like every other day, I had entered into my grandparent’s landlord’s house to play. One of those men, with no blood relation, that you had to refer to as “uncle” because they were older and close to the family asked that I sit on his lap. My innocent five year old self did, oblivious to the constant pokes in my private part alongside the push and forward movement my body had been subjected to. The experience continued to haunt me as I could not understand and reconcile how my body changed, turned. Growing up, however, with the comprehension of the concept of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) I now understand what this incident was.”


Like Ayodeji, many survivors of CSA are preyed on by someone close to and trusted by the family (house helps, relatives, friends on the family). The Behind Closed Doors documentary will investigate, whether the setup of the typical Nigerian family creates a safe haven for CSA perpetrators because of the huge importance placed upon respect, fear of embarrassment and protecting reputation. It will look at what can be done to protect these incidents from occurring, what support should be given to survivors’ of CSA and making sure perpetrators are brought to justice. Behind closed doors will explore the existence and efficacy of the support systems currently in place for these young people. There will be interviews conducted with an extensive range of individuals with different perspectives and viewpoints. The aim is to try and give these survivors, incredibly resilient and inspiring young people a platform to share their stories and shed light on this complex issue.

Every child has their own dreams and desires that deserve to be nurtured, and having their innocence stolen from them, their voice silenced and their body physically hurt through sexual abuse is not something that anybody should have to endure, talk less a child.

The Inspiration 
Whilst I was at university, I was stunned by the amount of Nigerian International students (both male and female) who opened up to me about either being molested or raped by someone that they knew who was in a position of trust – such as a relative, family friend or house help. Whilst some had been clearly affected by it, others (perhaps as a coping strategy) normalised or downplayed this abuse, for example I remember one young man jokingly saying that he was a ladies’ man from birth.

Dates & Finances 
I am hoping to fly out from London to Lagos around the 25th May and stay for two weeks. I am in the process of applying for a grant of a £1000 with One World Media, however this is not guaranteed and will just about cover international flights (£500- £700), domestic flights (£150-250) and transport (£100-150) whilst there.

 

Update: 23/03/2017
I have raised my target from the initial amount of £2000 by £500 to £2500, this is my stretch target to cover unforeseen expenditure and because of the Naira (the local currency) strengthening against the pound .

Additionally I will need to raise money for:

Accommodation: £500

Payment for local producer:  £500

Payment for local cameraperson: £200

Insurance (self, crew & equipment): £100

Living Costs: £600

Additional production costs (specialist software, post production expenses, equipment, taxis, and unexpected expenses): £350

So, on a tight budget the whole project will cost between £3000 - £3350. As a recent graduate in the budding stages of my career, my financial resources are quite limited. I wholeheartedly believe in the project and I am determined to make it happen, but with your generous help, I could develop the potential of this documentary far beyond what I could achieve in isolation.

The benefits of the Behind Closed Doors documentary will spread far and wide, as all of the footage recorded would be useful for the individuals in that it would give them a voice and recognition and for the organisation I visit it will give them with high quality footage of the amazing work they are doing to help victims of CSA – this could prove to be useful for marketing and spreading the word.


Thank You So Much!
If you read to this point, I just want to say thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day, to read about this project  that I am so passionate about – I hope that you learnt something and I just want to express my heartfelt gratitude for any donation I receive, big or small, every penny counts.