Hidden Scars is a heartrending documentary on the culture of abuse and silence, and the society’s persistent failure to protect its children.
By Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku
“Over nine million children in Nigeria under the age of eighteen are exposed to sexual violence every year. This fate hits one out of every four girls and one out of every ten boys.” These statistics are rolled out within the first few minutes of Hidden Scars: Violence Against Children in Nigeria, a 2017 documentary short informed by the findings from the 2014 National Survey on Violence Against Children (VAC) in Nigeria.
Made by the Media Information and Narrative Development (MIND)—a Nigerian participatory media organisation—with support from UNICEF Nigeria, Hidden Scars documents the stories of two girls and one boy, ranging between nine to seventeen years, who have been victims of sexual abuse. The children’s identities are kept concealed as they share their experiences, courageously identifying the men who violated them: a father, a school cleaner, a neighbour who is known well enough to be capable of being named.
A common thread is the fact that most of these children were abused by people who were supposed to protect them. “Parents may think their kids are protected because they are at home or in school. However, sexual violence most often occurs in places where children should be safe,” says an unseen narrator. “At home, in schools, and on the way to and from school.”
Another recurring theme is that the children stay silent not only out of fear of the perpetrators but also out of fear of the people they should report to. “I did not tell anybody, because if I told them, I might get beaten or cursed,” says one of the girls who eventually told her mother, but was not believed by the police officers her mother reported to. For the other girl, her own mother did not believe her. “She said, ‘You this small girl, what do you know?’”
Beyond sexual violence, Hidden Scars also looks into physical and emotional violence against children, both as a pathway to sexual violence and as a purported form of discipline. It is a heartrending documentary on the culture of abuse and silence, and the society’s persistent failure to protect its children.
Sexual violence is grossly underreported in Nigeria, and conviction rates remain frustratingly low. For children, the situation is even more terrifying. Recently, Nigerians have renewed the call for justice for one of many children who have experienced such unforgivable brutality.
Ochanya Ogbanje was a thirteen-year-old girl who passed away on 17th October, 2018, after suffering from Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF), a result of years of sexual abuse. To date, the alleged rapists, her cousin, Victor Ogbuja, and her aunt’s husband, Andrew Ogbuja, walk free. Victor Ogbuja has never been tried, and Andrew Ogbuja was acquitted in 2022.
Runtime: 13 minutes
Hidden Scars: Violence Against Children in Nigeria is available to stream here.
Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku is a writer, film critic, TV lover, and occasional storyteller writing from Lagos. She has a master’s degree in law but spends most of her time reading about and discussing films and TV shows. She’s particularly concerned about what art has to say about society’s relationship with women. Connect with her on X @Nneka_Viv