As despicable as this is, the sobering revelation that Covid-19 lockdowns in Nigeria have exacerbated the rising wave of rape cases involving, especially minors, and inadvertently placed women already facing domestic violence at risk for more severe violence; is not only disturbing on account of the horror and bestiality it emblemizes; the odious phenomenon illustrates a breakdown of social norms and values which debases age, tramples on morality, rubbishes decency, cheapens Nigeria and assaults human dignity. This ugly development shows that there are no moral boundaries that cannot be violated, if any such boundaries still exist in the amoral enclave called Nigeria. To the eternal embarrassment of this nation, this harrowing development remains a most traumatic advertisement of the plight of the Nigerian woman and another open sore with its indelible imprint of guilt on the national psyche. This is one odious image-battering event in recent Nigerian history that should tug at the soul and conscience of every concerned person. Either way, it is an untold national shame.
Findings by the women rights watch group, Women At Risk International Foundation (WARIF) confirmed one in four females reported experiencing sexual violence in childhood with approximately 70% reporting more than one incident of sexual violence. The same study also found 24.8% of females aged 18 to 24 years experienced sexual abuse prior to age 18. These depressing statistics were corroborated by the Lagos state government-run Domestic and Gender Violence Response Team, which reported 60% increase in domestic violence, 30% rise in sexual violence, and 10% increase in physical child abuse in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdowns. The past-year prevalence of physical, sexual or emotional violence by a partner aka Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has been reported in rates as high as 69%.
Notably, violence against women in the home involves abuse of children as well as other household members. IPV is also associated with a multitude of poor mental, sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Women reported that social isolation and lack of access to formal services inhibited their ability to get support as a result of IPV during the lockdown. Additionally, economic stressors associated with Covid-19 lockdown were noted by women as aggravating or resulting in IPV. Hence, there is need for innovative approaches to support victims, with emphasis on ways in which IPV perpetrators may be using Covid-19 to further gain power and control over their victims. Against the background of the upsurge in rape and sexual violence, Nigeria has now cemented its strong credentials in the eyes of the world as a large den of rapists and sexual predators.
A rapist is a sick person in need of psychiatric help. A long jail term with hard labor or any severe punishment should be the beginning of that treatment process for identified and convicted rapists. How the judiciary deals with culprits determines whether or not the malaise would be curtailed. A situation whereby the culprits go scot-free or are handed light punishment is unacceptable. Like corruption and other ills plaguing the country, this is happening because the criminal justice system in Nigeria is slow and weak. Many people commit hideous crimes and go free. Unless the law is strong enough and able to impose maximum sanctions promptly, there may be nothing to deter offenders. So, very harsh penalties should be visited on offenders to serve as deterrent to potential rapists.
This upsurge in rape cases across the country has involved sexual molestation of children in primary and secondary schools by some of their teachers. Available statistics from the Center for Constitutionalism and Demilitarization show that in their lifetime; 2.5% of boys and 1.1% of girls had been raped, while 5.3% of males and 0.9% of females had attempted rape. A similar study found that 36.7% of girls attending university had experienced sexual harassment/victimization at least once on campus. Of this, 32.4% had been raped. The story is the same in many states of the federation while numerous cases go unreported. Most victims of rape and sexual assault do not report to formal authorities for fear of stigmatization. It may well turn out, therefore, that the incidence of rape in the country today is far beyond imagination. Cases of assault on women through beating and acid-bathing have become fairly common occurrence. This is simply odious and barbaric. Beside outright sexual assaults, there are cases that experts have called “mini-rapes” such as indecent touching, stalking, staring and malicious side comments at the physical make-up of a woman. No one should fail to notice how Nigeria and its many ugly contradictions were again, pitifully on display as this sordid saga is unfolding despite the state of emergency on rape declared by all 36 state governors last year.
It is important to interrogate the causes of rape and sexual violence against women; especially as such an act advertises a sickness of the mind, needing urgent counselling and treatment. One cause is the breakdown of family values. The search for a living wage by both parents has put a huge strain on many families while children are left to themselves without protection and moral guidance. In the urban areas, children’s upbringing is the first casualty of the endless race to make ends meet, in a society ravaged by poverty. They are often coerced into hawking of wares to augment family income. In the streets, the children are exposed to all forms of danger, including sexual assault and abduction. This breakdown of values also finds expression in children taking to alcohol and drug addiction as well as prostitution. Then, there is patriarchy, a system that perpetuates male dominance, which is alive and flourishing in most Nigerian communities.
Given the reality and preponderance of rape, the authorities at federal, state and local governments should confront the menace. The first port of call is, of course, the judiciary. Sometimes, the problem is on the capacity of prosecution. Many victims shy away from prosecution for fear of stigmatization. Others lack the financial muscle to pursue their case. In all cases, the victims should be protected and be made to give evidence off camera without having contact with the offender. To protect the interest of victims and prosecute the cases thoroughly, the state should be the complainant and the cases should not be left to hapless victims who lack the resources to pursue them.
Parents and guardians have a responsibility to look after their wards. Leaving young girls indiscriminately in care of neighbors or family friends exposes them to danger. Poverty, of course, is a destroyer of lives. And survival alone has forced many families to put under-aged girls in activities such as hawking which in turn make them vulnerable to rape and other forms of abuse. Under-aged girls are vulnerable and should not be so exposed. These days, minors, including boys and girls, are raped almost on daily basis by apparently sick adults. Some of the girls are even raped by their biological fathers while others are so abused by close family members. Statistics show that more than 90% of rape cases are committed by close family members and not strangers. Therefore, the problem has its roots in the family. That explains why quite often, the victims are reluctant to report or pursue the case.
The late former Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe recommended castration as punishment for rape, but castration not being part of Nigeria’s extant criminal jurisprudence; there is more than enough in existing laws and statutes to put rapists behind bars for life. Section 357 of the Criminal Code states that “any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if consent was obtained by force or by means of threat or intimidation of any kind, or by fear or harm, or by any means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act, or in the case of a married woman, by impersonating her husband is guilty of an offence called rape.” Under Section 358, the punishment for rape is life imprisonment while attempted rape is punishable by 14 years imprisonment. The problem is therefore not with the law but its implementation.
This blight on the image of Nigeria is an assault on humanity and a conscience-lessness that must have no place in any society. The sanity and moral compass of a society should be measured by the manner in which it treats its most vulnerable members. It is instructive that the girls that end up being raped and sexually abused are usually from poor backgrounds. If the federal government, state governments, public spirited Nigerians and well-meaning international organizations do not successfully address this situation, another moral challenge and albatross of socio-economic dimension may well be leading Nigeria down the road to perdition. Otherwise stated, Nigeria may end up adding this menace to its many badges of dishonor.
