“It is a truly innovative organization, supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault while seeking healing and justice,” he added. “Her vital work means women no longer need to suffer in silence and I am deeply grateful to all of Mirabel’s wonderful staff and volunteers.”
The duchess will work with Nigerian and British women and men to find ways to help the Mirabel Center over the coming months, Clarence House said.
The center’s founder, Itoro Eze-Anaba, told CNN on Tuesday that the Mirabel Center offers free medical and psychosocial support services to survivors of sexual violence and has assisted more than 6,000 people since it began eight years ago.
He said the youngest survivor they have helped was a 3-month-old baby and the oldest, an 80-year-old woman.
Eze-Anaba added that having the duchess as a patroness, among other things, will allow 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 and 30 customers in a month. Now we see at least 70, sometimes more than 100 in a month. That means more people have the confidence to talk, ”he said.
The Duchess of Cornwall became the patron saint of the British charity SafeLives for domestic abuse last year.
“Sexual violence in Nigeria is rampant but shrouded in secrecy because of the stigma associated with it,” Eze-Anaba said.
Last month, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) said there were at least 1,617 cases of sexual assault in the state between January and June this year.
“The current COVID-19 pandemic has further revealed the endemic nature of sexual violence. We have seen a large number of children and women come forward to report cases of sexual assault and rape,” Eze-Anaba said.