Global Health & Human Rights

Boko Haram Kidnappings and the Victims’ Mental Health

By Michele Goodwin In mid-April, Boko Haram, an extremist organization operating in the northern region of Nigeria, kidnapped nearly 300 girls from their boarding school in Borno.  Kidnappers threatened that the girls would be sold to sex trafficking rings in neighboring countries, causing international alarm.   In the weeks since that mass kidnapping, world leaders…

Published:

By Michele Goodwin

In mid-April, Boko Haram, an extremist organization operating in the northern region of Nigeria, kidnapped nearly 300 girls from their boarding school in Borno.  Kidnappers threatened thatNigeria_Boko_Haram_Kidnapping the girls would be sold to sex trafficking rings in neighboring countries, causing international alarm.   In the weeks since that mass kidnapping, world leaders have issued collective demands for the return of the girls–and placed pressure on Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan to take aggressive action to achieve the girls’ return.  Some pundits believe hope may be around the corner, because in the last two days, Boko Haram leaders claimed that they will release some of the girls to safe houses.  Yet, it remains unclear whether this will happen.

While the world-community eagerly hopes for the girls’ return,  the kidnappings and the slow response by the Nigerian government seems emblematic of a broader problem regarding the treatment and low status of girls in Nigeria and neighboring countries such as Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Indeed, the Congo is considered to be the “rape capital” of the world.

Importantly, if the girls’ release materializes, what actions will the government take to ease their return? How will the government help return them to their villages and school? By this, we should ask questions about what type of mental and physical health services will be provided?  What type of preparation will be offered to their families?  These questions should be at the forefront of Nigeria’s strategy.

 

About the author

  • Michele Goodwin

    Michele Bratcher Goodwin is a prolific thoughtleader, author, advocate and public commentator. Her research, scholarship and public commentary span constitutional law, women’s rights, domestic and international health policy, and biotechnology. She holds the Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill chair in constitutional law and global health policy at Georgetown Law and serves as the faculty director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. Her academic publications appear in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Cornell Law Review, and NYU Law Review among others. She is the author of the award-winning book Policing The Womb: Invisible Women and The Criminalization of Motherhood. She is also the executive producer of Ms. Studios. In addition to Ms. magazine, Dr. Goodwin’s commentary can be read in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Nation, CNN, and the LA Times.

    More from Michele