Laide-Lanre Badmus, an entrepreneur and businesswoman, is set to launch a new foundation, LLB Africa to help victims of sexual abuse across the continent.
Speaking at a press conference organized to mark the unveil the foundation in Ibadan on Tuesday, she explained that her decision to start the initiative was fuelled by her personal experience as a victim of sexual abuse.
“This foundation has been a long-term passion for me to help in building emotional stability for emotionally broken children with childhood dysfunctions just like me.
“As a young girl who was sexually abused at the age of 13 by a man who was supposed to be her guardian or, better still, a father figure, no one else qualifies more to have such a foundation than myself,” she was quoted saying.
She explained further that society stigmatizes victims when they speak out on their rape experience, and “some mothers, aunties, and co will even shut their defiled kids up when they report the husband’s sexual abuse.
“That’s why I am baring it all out for the good of humanity and for other victims out there that had been threatened and bullied into silence by their perpetrators, not considering the emotional and mental damage it has on victims. You owe no abuser your silence.”
“For some, we will pursue justice, so they won’t have to wait till they are comfortable enough like I waited till it became late to get justice because my abuser died before | could fight for myself. For some, it will be just therapy sessions and the healing process.
“Like our tag line says, “every child is a priority” stems from the belief that only the girl child can be abused, in our case, we are looking out for both the girl and the boy child. It will be shocking to note that the number of boys being abused is just slightly lower than the number of pils being abused. So this means boys are constantly abused as well.
“LLB Foundation would like to use this opportunity to call on UNICEF and the UN to also create the International Day of the Boy Child, just like the October 11 yearly celebration of the Girl Child. This beams more attention also on the Boy Child also,” she added.
