Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has been named the patron of Nigeria’s first sexual assault referral center, The Mirabel Center, based in Lagos.
The 74-year-old Duchess, who has been a longtime campaigner against domestic abuse and sexual violence, said she was “delighted to become Patron of the Mirabel Center in Lagos,” which was founded in 2013 to support survivors of sexual assault.
“It is a truly trailblazing organization, supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault as they seek healing and justice.
“Their vital work means that women need no longer suffer in silence and I am deeply grateful to all Mirabel’s wonderful staff and volunteers,” she said in her acceptance speech.
The Duchess will be working directly with Nigerian and British-Nigerian women to find ways to help the Mirabel Centre over the coming months, her spokesperson, Clarence House said.
The center’s founder, Itoro Eze-Anaba, while commending the Duchess for accepting the role, said the Mirabel Center provides free medical and psychosocial support services to survivors of sexual violence and has assisted over 6,000 people since it started eight years ago.
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She added that the youngest survivor they have helped was a 3-month-old baby and the oldest, an 80-year-old woman.
Eze-Anaba said that having the Duchess as patron will, among other things, enable the organization to boost the work it does for survivors of sexual violence, who are often too afraid to speak out.
“It will raise awareness about the center, and the issue of rape in Nigeria. When we started in 2013, we were seeing between 20 to 30 clients in a month. Now, we see at least 70, sometimes more than 100 clients in a month. This means that more people are having the confidence to speak out.
“Sexual violence in Nigeria is rampant but shrouded in secrecy because of the stigma that is associated with it,” Eze-Anaba said.
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