Fatima was 12 when she was raped by her neighbor When her new husband found out she was arrested for adultery and her family had to pay a fine to have her released. She was pregnant with the rapist’s child and gave birth. Fatima had a mental breakdown and tries to harm herself and her family. Unable to leave the home and worried for her own safety, her family had taken to tying her leg to a tree or a stool. Without adequate counselling services available, Fatima’s future is uncertain. Case workers are aware of the issues and are working to increase support for her and many girls like her.
Self portrait by Aisha from Sokoto. She’s only 5 and she was raped by a fiend of the family. The family decided not to press charges.
Miriam wants to be a teacher. She was selling goods at the market in Sokoto when she was raped and impregnated by a man in the neighborhood. She has a healthy baby but she can’t go to school and she’s been shunned by members of her community.
Jacinta was helping her grandmother by minding her informal store while she went to the market. An older man came and bought some tobacco and homemade gin, but when Jacinta went into the house to get a pen and calculate what he owed, he followed her inside. He threw her on the bed and tried to rape her. He violently assaulted her and injured her badly. She screamed but everyone was at the market. Eventually he left, and she immediately told her parents and they went to the police. Despite a depressingly low rate of reporting and conviction in Nigeria, Jacinta's case has been well handled and her attacker is behind bars. She hopes he stays there. A quiet day at her grandmother's house turned into a nightmare, but she’s moving on and hoping to go back to school soon. She’s planning on becoming a lawyer so she can protect other girls and help bring more rapists to justice.
Self portrait by Esther. She is 8 years old and lives in Ebonyi state. Last year, her mother sent her out to get the goat tethered in a nearby field before dinner when she was attacked by a man in the village. He dragged her to his hut and raped her. Even though he threatened her not to tell anyone she immediately told her parents and they took her to the doctor and the police. The rapist is in prison awaiting trial. For Esther and her mother, life is not the same. Her mother has 4 younger children and she’s terrified to let any of them out of her sight. She now juggles the many duties at home along with the work on the farm where they live.
Precious, Ebonyi state.
Adeola is 13 years old and she lives in the semi industrial outskirts of Abuja. She was raped last year by her neighbor and kept quiet because of the threats she received. The rapist sent for her at school and when she didn’t come he threatened to kill her again. Afraid for her life, she obeyed his calls and raped her six times before her aunt noticed her leaving his house. Her parents confronted her and threatened to beat her if she withheld the truth. When she explained, she says she was badly beaten by her father. They pressed charges and the rapist was arrested. He was promptly released on bail. Even though Adeola and her family moved houses, the rapist lives nearby and came to threaten her mother to drop the case. Her mother refused to settle and is pursuing justice in the courts. She says the whole community is ‘mocking’ her daughter and the new landlord has offered money to sleep with Adeola. Her mother is scared to leave her at home and scared to let her out of the house.
Self portrait by Adeola with her brothers.
Drawing by Ebunoluwa showing her and her baby. Ebunoluwa is only 16 years old and she has a 2 year old baby. A man from the logging promised to marry her but abandoned her when she became pregnant. She dropped out of school and she tells people the father is ‘working in Lagos’ to avoid the stigma of being a single mother.
Grace was on her way home from her sister's wedding when a family friend offered her a ride on his motorbike. She declined, but he insisted so she reluctantly accepted. He didn’t take her home but drove instead to a local primary school where his friend was waiting. The two men took turns raping her and she blacked out. Security guards caught the men and held them at gunpoint while they called the police. Grace was so badly injured that she was in hospital for over a month. The trial is ongoing and she’s back in school and the rapists are in prison while the legal process drags on. She says she forgives them and doesn’t mind if they are released so long as she can get on with her life. She’s 15 years old.
Self portrait by Grace.
Precious playing games with her siblings in the farmyard outside her home. School has helped create a pathway for recovery for Precious but her parents say that more support is needed to help her recover. Two years of awaiting justice for the rapist has been hard and the family only manages with legal support to help them keep pushing the case in the courts.
Miracle was 14 when she was raped by a man in her neighborhood in Lagos. He threatened her to keep quiet but when she became pregnant, she spoke out and others in her class came forward and reported him for abuse. Miracle publicly denounced her rapist on the street before he went to prison. She wants to go back to school and become a doctor.
Self portrait by Miracle.
Imbiana was on her way home from school when she fell asleep on the minibus and woke up at the end of the line in a neighborhood she didn’t know. In a panic, she tried to reach her mum and a woman paid for her to get a motorbike home. When Imbiana walked in the door, her mother burned her stomach with the side of a hot knife. Her injury was spotted at school and she was taken into state care. She says her mother has apologised but Imbiana doesn’t want to go home. She’s in school and studying to be a doctor.
“I see him often,” Mary says. “I'm always scared because I remember what he did to me. It makes it hard for me to let go.” Mary was raped when she was 15 years old. She never told her parents and endured years of shame and trauma. The rapist threatened her life through a campaign of online intimidation. After 3 years of silence, she’s confided in specialists at a rape crisis center in Lagos and they are helping her build a case and get support. They’ve helped her document the case by saving the Facebook messages sent to her by the rapist. Her attacker is still at large and she has not yet told her parents about what she’s been through.
Patience is 8 years old. She and her little sister were raped by their pastor. Their mother went to the police and the pastor was arrested. He was released on bail and the congregation believes his denials and they now have turned on Patience and her family. They’ve been forced to leave the community and they’re struggling to find support to help the girls recover. While rape crisis services are better Lagos than other Nigerian cities, the road to justice is still daunting for most families. In a country where nearly 100 million people live in poverty, taking on powerful rapists is difficult for poor families.
Ndidi was raped by her father when she was 8 years old. She told her mother but her mother did nothing because of fear and dependence on the father. After four years of horrific abuse, Ndidi escaped and got help. She lives in a shelter home for girls who have been through similar trauma. Ndidi wants to be a gospel singer.
Aisha is 13 years old. She went to a traditional healer in her village to get his help. She wanted him to make a potion so she could find a husband. After a long consultation, he told her she needed his sperm to make the formula more potent. He raped her and threatened her not to tell anyone. Now she’s 8 months pregnant. She dropped out of school and her parents have pleaded with the rapist for support. Reluctantly he’s agreed that if the baby is healthy, he’ll take her as another wife. Some rural communities distrust the police and try to settle cases of rape through village negotiation, but for Aisha this could result in having to marry her rapist, or facing a lifetime of stigma and uncertainty.
Isa was selling bean cake at the market in sokoto when she was attacked from behind, bound and blindfolded. She was taken to a house and brutally raped for days. She was found unconscious on the streets and was hospitalized for 4 months to recover. She lives with her aunt who struggles to make ends meet. Isa’a injuries required numerous surgeries and her aunt sold everything they owned to pay for them. Isa is unable to identify the rapist and he remains at large. She hopes to return to school someday but she’s still recovering from her horrific ordeal.
Self portrait of Fatou from Sokoto. She’s recovering from being attacked and raped by a man in her neighborhood. Fatou is 13 years old.
Rahama is 13 years old and the mother of a 1 year old boy. She was raped by a neighbor who had powerful friends. She was terrified he would kill her if she told anyone but when her family found out she was pregnant they reported the crime to the police. They were encouraged to settle the case and initially they had no success seeking justice. A pro bono lawyer took on Rahama’s case and finally got the rapist arrested and behind bars. Rahama says she doesn’t like her baby as it reminds her of what happened. She wants to go back to school and become a lawyer.
Jessica is 11 years old and lives in a state run orphanage outside Abuja. She was living with her aunt and coping with regular beatings, but one night her aunt took a hot knife from the fire and burned Jessica’s hand. The next day at school she was bleeding badly from multiple wounds and the principal called child services for help. She got immediate medical care and never returned to her aunt's home. Jessica says she wants to stay in the orphanage because she’s well cared for and gets to go to school. She has several scars from the abuse she suffered, including burn marks on her hand. She says she wants to be a lawyer to protect other girls like her.
“I want to be a lawyer because I don’t want other girls like me to pass through a similar experience,” Adeola says. “I want to stand for them, be there for them and fight for them, that’s why I want to be a lawyer.” Adeola is 13 years old and she lives in the semi industrial outskirts of Abuja. She was raped last year by her neighbor and kept quiet because of the threats she received. The rapist sent for her at school and when she didn’t come he threatened to kill her again. Afraid for her life, she obeyed his calls and raped her six times before her aunt noticed her leaving his house. Her parents confronted her and threatened to beat her if she withheld the truth. When she explained, she says she was badly beaten by her father. They pressed charges and the rapist was arrested. He was promptly released on bail. Even though Adeola and her family moved houses, the rapist lives nearby and came to threaten her mother to drop the case. Her mother refused to settle and is pursuing justice in the courts. She says the whole community is ‘mocking’ her daughter and the new landlord has offered money to sleep with Adeola. Her mother is scared to leave her at home and scared to let her out of the house.
Zainab is 13 years old and has serious mental disabilities. A man in her neighborhood raped her and got her pregnant. She’s unable to say who it is and her parents cannot pursue the case without a suspect. She’s given birth to a healthy baby and the family are looking after it, but Zainab says she continues to be attacked by the man. The family raised the issue with police but they are told that no charges can be made until he’s caught.
Amanda was raped and impregnated when she was 16. She was attacked in her own compound on a rainy night 2 years ago. She told her brother she was going to the kitchen and was then raped by a neighbor. She screamed but no one could hear because of the sound of the rain. Her brother came in and caught the rapist in the act. They reported the incident and the rapist is now in prison, but it’s left long term consequences for Amanda. She dropped out of school and moved out to a remote village to live with relatives. She tells people the father works in Lagos so she doesn’t have to tell them the truth about what happened.
Self portrait by Mercy, who’s just 6 years old. Late last year, the neighbor invited her and her older sister to his home for Christmas cake. He raped them both and threatened them not to tell or he’d kill them. Their mother saw their injuries and called the police. The rapist is the landlord's son and when he was arrested, and then released on bail, Mercy and her family were evicted. They are now in a new place and new school and their mother is getting support to pursue the case in the courts.
Self portrait of a rape survivor in Sokoto.
