Taming The Rape Culture In Nigeria 

The increasing cases of rape in Nigeria is a great concern to many. Scarcely a day passes without an incident of a woman, girl or infant being raped in one part of the country or another. Some of the victims are not only raped but brutalised and killed. Recall the story of how a 22-year-old 100 level Microbiology student of the University of Benin, Uwaila Omozuwa, was raped and murdered in a church in Benin a few months ago.
When the Senate in June 2015, ratified the Sexual Offences Bill (2015) which prescribes life imprisonment for rapists and those who have sexual interaction with children under 11 years, many thought that would assist in reducing rape cases in the country. Incidentally, that is not the case yet as many women in the country, both young and old, are daily subjected to sexual abuses. Some are reported, while many go unreported.
However, as the cases soar, individuals, human rights organisations, civil society groups and others relentlessly work towards the curtailment of the bestial act. One of such groups, Center for Women Studies and Intervention (CWSI) and its partners, including International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), (Nig),  Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC),  Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) and others, recently in Abuja, called for an end to gender-based violence and rape.
Relating several pathetic stories of female sexual abuses in many parts of the country, CWSI Executive Director, Rev Sr Ngozi Frances Uti, said it was high time government and lawmakers demonstrated more commitment and be more passionate about rape and other forms of sexual abuses if the menace must be curbed.
According to her, “when a woman/girl is raped, she loses her self-esteem/worth. She is plunged into depression if she survives the ordeal and forever battles with the trauma. This uncontrollable sexual appetite of the rapist destroys the victim’s future and pushes her into a lifelong dark age”.
In the viewpoint of Chairperson, FIDA, Abuja Branch, Rachael Adejo-Andrew, the country does not lack laws that criminalise rape and other sexual offences as the Penal Code, the Criminal Code and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, (VAPP), all have portions that deal with the abominable acts. What is in short supply, however, is the implementation of these laws?
She called on the police and all those charged with the responsibility of implementing or enforcing these laws to sit up just as states that are yet to adopt the VAPP Act should do so. “The penalty in that law is stiff enough to prohibit people from perpetrating the crime and it also has provisions for psycho-socio, medical, legal and other supports for rape victims,” she emphasised.
The legal icon harped on the need for the police, rape victims and their families as well as the entire populace to realise that rape is a crime against the state which should not be mediated but be allowed to be dealt with in accordance with the law.
In her words: “sometimes we hear things like oh! they have begged me; my pastor has intervened; my grandfather has called so l am going to drop the case; I am not going forward with the case and all that. We need to understand that rape is a crime against the state. It is not against the individual. Yes, the individual is the one suffering but it is a crime against the state and you don’t mediate a crime. You let it go to court. Let the court take its course”.
Also, she admonished that to make a rape case easy and for victims to be victorious, the following must be done: victims must not destroy the evidence, they should immediately report to government recognised hospital; they should ensure the case is reported and documented at a police station; involve CSOs so they can follow up the case; ensure that a lawyer is involved for a thorough investigation; they should be tenacious, committed and determined to see the case through.
It is a known fact that many rape victims who would have heeded Adejo-Andrew’s counsel and ensure that the perpetrators do not go scot-free are discouraged by the stigma associated with sexual abuse.  To address the important issue, Media Officer, CISLAC, Onyekachi Eze, called for more sensitisation and education by the media and other stakeholders. “Do you know some parents even tell their abused daughters to keep quiet due to fear of being stigmatised? So, until we get strong sanctions that can stop them, let us keep educating and sensitising,” she opined.
Similarly, a member of WRAPA, Dinma Nwanye-Ajanaku, advocated that religious and traditional leaders who have the ability to influence community members should be educated on how to handle rape cases. She grimaced at the practice of always focusing on victims when reporting rape cases in the media. She said attention should rather be paid to the offenders as a way of naming and shaming them.
In the views of a past Executive Director of CWSI, Rev Sr Rosemary Ukata, to win the fight against rape in Nigeria and save our society, law enforcement agents and all those responsible for implementing laws against the menace should rise to their responsibilities. She suggested that gender desks at police stations should be made functional and further advocated that the issue of drug and other substance abuses be given more bite by the relevant bodies.
The need for proper parental upbringing, more attention to the boychild and value reorientation of the entire citizenry were also proposed by some other participants as ways of dealing with the crime.
A country representative, Catholic Agency for Oversea Development (CAFOD) and Catholic Charities Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN), Mr Kelechi Emeh, capped it all by calling for the establishment of a special court for rape cases and for more synergy between the CSOs and other stakeholders in the battle against the scourge. He said: “We are not in a competition. We are working for a common purpose. When we come together and pull our resources together we achieve our aim of making our society better”.

Calista Ezeaku