BY Janefrances Chibundu
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says the employment of underage persons as domestic workers is a serious offence, with violators risking 7 years in prison.
Hassan Tahir, the agency’s director of legal and prosecution, gave the warning on Monday in Abuja, following recent reports of employers inflicting injuries on their domestic workers.
Tahir said section 23 of the Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Act condemns the employment of a child as a domestic worker.
He quoted the section as stating that “any person who willfully employs, requests, recruits, transports, harbours, receives or hires out a child as a domestic worker commits an offence and is liable to conviction of imprisonment for a minimum term of 6 months, and not exceeding 7 years”.
He advised those willing to employ house helps — be they underage or not — to ensure that they are treated fairly and equally.
Tahir explained that the help must be sleeping in the same room with the kids of the master, and must be attending the same school with the kids of the boss.
“The domestic worker must attend the same school with your children, eat the same food with your children, wear the same cloth with your children, he or she must be treated equally with your children,” Tahir said.
“There could be a situation whereby you employ a child and at the same time inflict injury on him or her. If you want to violate their right, please don’t do that, and if certainly you do, NAPTIP will do the needful.
“NAPTIP has been sensitising the general public, creating awareness, educating people about use of humans for trafficking, particularly on the issue of employing somebody as a domestic worker.
“Employment of an underage as a domestic worker is a serious offence, violators risk going to jail for 7 years. That is the position of the law, that is the position of the trafficking Act.”
He urged states yet to adopt the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act to do so, adding that several states are yet to domesticate the law.
According to him, domestication of the VAPP Act by all states will ensure the country presents a common front in the fight against domestic violence in the country.
He called on Nigerians experiencing domestic violence to report same to NAPTIP, as the doors of the agency are always open.
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