Advocacy & Campaigning

Stepping Stones Nigeria believes passionately in the power of advocacy to help bring about long term change in the lives of children in the Niger Delta. Our advocacy and campaigning work is carried out through Prevent Abuse of Children Today (PACT).

Those children who are most vulnerable, particularly so-called ‘witches’, are frequently ignored and have no means of getting their voices heard. This is despite the fact that Nigeria has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which is a collection of fundamental rights and freedoms to which children across the world are entitled.

Children in Nigeria frequently endure spiritual, emotional and physical abuse, torture, neglect, abandonment and sexual exploitation. SSN sees one of our key roles as advocating at a local, national and international level on behalf of these children in order to transform their lives and prevent further suffering. In order to champion for the rights of children most effectively, SSN has launched the Prevent Abuse of Children Today (PACT) campaign. PACT is a global campaign that aims to give a voice to the voiceless and bring about long-term change for the Nigerian child, particularly those at risk of witchcraft accusations, abuse and trafficking.

PACT's Mission

To change mindsets, policies and practices in order to prevent the abuse of children in Nigeria.  

PACT's Vision

Our vision is a world where all children are able to live without fear of physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual abuse.

PACT's Aims

PACT has two important aims. It is our hope that by making particular demands at a Federal, State and local level, we will achieve these aims. In all that we do and in all we are planning to do, these aims are central to our work:

1. To eradicate all forms of child abuse, torture, killings and trafficking of children especially those who have been accused of witchcraft.

2. To advocate for the rights of children accused of witchcraft at a local, regional and international level.

PACT's Demands

The PACT campaign's strength lies in our collective ability to place pressure on key groups in Nigeria in order to get them to protect the rights of children, especially those accused of witchcraft. We do this by targeting each of the following groups with a set of demands:

1. Federal and State Governments

2. Churches

3. Film Industry

To find out more about the demands we are making of each group, please click here

To read some of our papers and publications, click here. 

To find out how you can act as a voice for vulnerable and exploited children, click here.