Written by:
Sani Abdulmalil Omale.
INTRODUCTION
It is with due course that the phenomenon called rape be given high and immense attention, for it is a social problem that seem to affect every corner of the society; some unreported, others reported but being mocked at, while some reported but due courses not being taken to curb the menace. As such, as each day passes by, the phenomenon gets high on the rise. There are times we wonder and pounder, why and how it happened, even in sacred grounds, people are now being victimized, some being brainwashed not to inform others, while some threatened . In this regard, the need arises to direct attention to the issue of rape.
What is rape? :
This is considered as the forcefull or illegal means of having sexual intercourse with a person with or without his or her consent or will. It can also be seen as a type of sexual assault which involve sexual intercourse or other forms of penetration carried out against an individual without his or her consent.
The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of given valid consent, such as the unconscious, incapacitated (below a stated legal age)' (World Health Organization, 2002).
However, this issue is not just limited to a particular gender, but rather it affect every gender, instance include male to male, male to female, female to female, female to male and even at times humans to animals, such as goat, pig, dog among others. Moreover, some of this rising issues of rape include the raping of Uwa, a Uniben student who was raped in the church, A 12year old girl who was brutally raped by 11 abled men in Jigawa state, the raping of Barakat, a student of University of Illorin in Ibadan, and also Micheal, who was raped by three women, A male teacher who was raped by his female students, who in turn went to coma, a 14 year old student who was reportedly raped by his teacher in Ogun State amongst others.
Motive behind involvement in the act of Rape :
According to WHO (2002), the principal factors that often leads to an individual(s) involvement in rape also referred to as sexual violence includes the following, Viz:
1. Beliefs in family honor and sexual purity
2. Attitude of individuals towards sexual entitlment
3. Weak legal sanction
4. Victim precipitation which others often considers as the most (improper dressing).
Irrespective of what the motive of rape may be, one do not have any moral or legal justification for engaging in the act of rape, for the act is considered as immoral and illegal in every sphere of life among which include religious tenents, morality and even legality.
As such, all of this fabrics considers rape as illegal and inhuman.
Meanwhile, some of these are usually instigated by show of pride and honor,because some victims becomes reluctant to report in a bid to protect the family's name, thereby making the perpetrators go unpunished.
Effects: There are so many effects that surround the act of rape. However, such effects would be seen from three perspectives. As follows:
1. Physical/ Biological Effect
2. Psychological trauma
3. Social effect
1. Physical / Biological Effect:
This includes the alteration of the victims biological or physical attributes, either physical bruises or the deformation of his or her body system. This however are usually done when the victim is aggressively raped,brutally coerced to give into the act. In some cases, this act of rape is accompanied with the transmission of sexual transmitted diseases such as HIV among others.
2. Psychological trauma:
This can be considered as the most devastating effect of rape. This is because it tends to affect both physical actions of the individual towards his or her society, the constant fear of being raped again(repeated victimization), show of distrust and may even lead to loss of thought and consistent mood swings among others.
3. Social effect:
This however, range from one community to another, and it is based on the fact that, some community will seek for concealment while others will seek for public intervention and also justice. However, some of the social effects includes stigmatization, mockery from the community members or gate way to prostitution among others.
WAYS FORWARD
As the case maybe, the act of crime is not just a thing of the law enforcement agency, as such, the need for all hand to be on deck becomes imperative, for crime and law is a business that concerns everybody, as such, the need for the following becomes imperative:
1. Community based alertness/neighbourhood watch:
In every community, for something to go wrong , they often exist an insider therein. As such, the community have a big role to play so as to remain steadfast and stand upright in the fight against injustice among which rape is considered as a lifetime injustice.
2. Early Report to Law enforcement agency:
In the Nigerian scenario, there exists a high level of distrust and mistrust among the public and the law enforcement agents, as such, the need for the law enforcement to remain stead firm on their ground to fight the act becomes imperative, for if 9 out of 10 perpetrators are brought to book to account for their malicious and mischievous act, then certainly, the public will not hesitate to report their issue to law enforcement agencies.
3. Family Alertness:
The family has a big role to play in fight against rape. It has been observed that 5 of 10 cases of rape are carried out by significant members of the family such as uncles, aunties, nephew, niece, brothers/ sister, teachers, neighbours, religious leaders, bosses, among others. In this sense, the need arises for members of the family to be alert and sensitive to the moods,emotions and psychological behaviors of their wards .
4. Early Sex Education:
It is also imperative for parents and educational institutions to teach wards/pupil proper sex education, the need to have a heart to heart conversation becomes necessary. This would play a preventive role in the sense that if anybody touches them inappropriately, they should scream and also report to their parent and the children should also be cautious of what they wear as this factor is considered a prominent cause of the rising indices of rape in the society.
5. Public Enlightenment on morality:
It is observed that in present days, we are often more concerned about what we want and not what the society actually want, thereby forgetting more of our moral tenet and acculturate to what is considered as myopic civilization, which is however considered as another rising problem in Nigeria. As such, so many tend to misunderstand immorality with civilization. Notwithstanding the positive impact of civilization, there is need to uphold morality which would be evident in our manner of dressing and words we speak.
6. Severe punishment:
With regards to rape control via punishment, the utilitarian views of a criminologist, in the person of Jeremy Benthem, which frontiers " the greater good for the greater number of people" can be applied. This is becaus, rape tends to affect a large proportion of the society ranging from a single individual, family and also the society at large. As such, severe sanctions has to be put into consideration. For instance, the passing of a bill in india that specifies a death penalty on rapist, Nigeria can also review her laws to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book and anybody who want to venture into the act,would have no other option than to think twice before they engage in the act of rape.
CONCLUSION
The act of rape is a crime, a crime which stays for a lifetime, carried out within a minute or even seconds, an act that tarnishes ones dream and moral justification, a show of shame. As such, the need for me, you, the government and her agencies to stand up and fight against the act becomes highly imperative.
Thanks you for your time.
Sani Abdulmalik Omale.
Editor-in-chief: M.T Demebide,Nacsp.
CEO, Matty Demes Services.
Contact: 07066377668.
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