Opinion: The Maddening, Disheartening, and Prevalent Rape Cases in Nigeria

It’s still a thing of bewilderment whenever I hear of babies, girls, and women been subjected to the cruelty of rape by those who are meant to protect them, people in positions of trust and influence in their lives.  Some of the pertinent questions that come to mind are: what were the perpetuators thinking before they committed the impious act? What was going on in their mind as they committed the act? Are those perpetrators even sane at all? Why on earth would a father force himself on his daughter? Why would anyone do such thing is certainly beyond any normal and sane comprehension.

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While we totally condemn this outrageous act we must begin to address the root cause of this insanity that seems to be on a rampage. Rape is a tool of oppression and dominance fuelled by a culture of silence in which the victims are mostly shamed and offenders given just a slap on the wrist and the incessant and reported rising cases is a pointer to that fact.

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Rape victims have always been shamed into silence by close friends and families making it seem as if they are the cause. They are accused of wearing provocative dresses, not keeping a distance from the perpetrator and so on but we have seen from research that rape cases happen in communities and cultures were the females are covered in loosely fitted clothing items. According to www.punchng.com, there were 287 reported rape cases in Katsina in 2020 and in Gombe, three persons are raped daily, a depressing statistics and all offenders deserve to be excused from free organized society into incarceration.

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Our cultural society has a lot to contribute to totally eradicating this act by not shielding the offender, and irrespective of the relationship of the offender  to the victim, he/she should be handed over to law enforcement authorities and appropriate punishment melted out to serve as both a retribution and deterrent for others and a closure to the victims. Victims should be encouraged to speak out so that perpetuators would know that they have nowhere to hide.

Our judiciary systems too have to be swift in delivering judgments to those found guilt. A society with an increasing number of cases of the heinous act of rape of her females is a pointer to a future disaster of broken individuals, malfunctioning homes and wrecked communities.  Our communities must protect her young, either male or females, teach all the value of human dignity and respect and punish offenders. When this is done, would-be perpetuators would have a rethink whenever it crosses their mind that possessing the might to dominate another person in a shameful way will come with severe consequences.

Photo Credit: dreamstime

 

OLUWABUSAYO MADARIOLA

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