The horrendous rape of the young student in India last December
started a new spate of re-engagement around the world with violence
against women, in particular sexual violence. The International Women’s
Day presents another opportunity to bring this issue again to the fore.
Just this past week, I spoke to a father whose nine-year-old daughter
was raped severally by a neighbour. This week also, I read about a
six-year-old girl who was raped to death by her teenage stepbrothers. In
recent months, I have had to discuss the ethical and legal
ramifications of the alleged actions of a school principal who, it was
alleged, “checked” the female students to ensure that they were still
virgins.
Perhaps you have not heard about these particular examples of sexual
violence. Perhaps all you have heard about is the Abia State case
rape, where a girl was gang raped by men who then proceeded to share
their dastardly acts on the internet; or the town in Enugu State where
women, including grandmothers, are raped clandestinely. Perhaps you have
a personal experience of rape, a story that you are yet to share with
anyone. Or your experience is even more remote – merely limited to
discussions and arguments on social media about whether or not there can
be any justifiable provocation for rape, or whether the concept of
“marital rape” has any validity.
Rape is an expression power over another in the most invasive way
possible, one that has many potential physical, emotional and mental
aftereffects. Sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, posttraumatic
stress disorder, are all possible aftereffects of sexual violence. One
of the clients that I was privileged to work with recently shared with
me the side effects of medications provided to counter any possible
infections she experienced in the immediate aftermath of being raped.
These ranged from rashes, to headaches, to the unexplainable urge to
scream at people in her workplace for the most banal of mistakes.
In addition to the pain and devastation, emotional and physical,
that accompany these acts of violence against many women and girls in
our country, these acts have something else in common and one: the
denial of justice. Justice, as I envision, comprises not only the
punishment of the perpetrator but the provision of adequate services and
resources to rehabilitate the victim. Resources such as emergency
numbers, comprehensive rape kits at hospitals, advice on sexually
transmitted diseases, antiretroviral treatment and free psychological
counselling are currently lacking. In Nigeria, many of these things are
left to the non-profit sector, with non-governmental organisations
scrambling to do what little they can within their limited resources.
Why is the state not more involved in protecting women and children from
sexual violence?
Justice for the victims of sexual violence also requires adequate
legislation and enforcement. The enforcement of the law on sexual
assaults and rape, like most essential things in Nigeria, remains
grossly insufficient in many respects. Currently, the Criminal Code and
the Penal Code provide for the maximum sentence of life imprisonment for
‘unlawful canal knowledge of a girl or woman without her consent’ and
14 years imprisonment for attempted rape. In the past few days, the
Violence Against Persons Bill, before the National Assembly for over a
decade, is reported to be making some progress towards enactment.
Recently also, the House of Representatives has passed a bill that
provides a punishment of life imprisonment for rapists.
We can always debate the sufficiency and appropriateness of the existing and the proposed legislation;
but no one can deny the overwhelming challenge of enforcement. Very few
perpetrators have experienced police arrest, let alone years of
imprisonment for sexual violence. As several of our clients will
testify, the ordinary policeman who is called upon to investigate a
crime of sexual assault or rape often acts as though the victim is
asking for too much. Often, you are told to “forgive and forget,” and
that “God will punish them” especially if searching for the
perpetrator(s) might require some breaking of sweat. Other times, when
you can state the name and address of the perpetrator, you may be
required to provide monies for “mobilisation,” which include monies to
be shared amongst the police for going to arrest the perpetrator, monies
to buy stationery to prepare the charge document, monies to charge the
perpetrator to court, and the list goes on.
These challenges go beyond sexual violence and pervade most criminal
matters but there is an added underlying thread of indifference in
sexual violence cases. While Lagos State has taken steps such as
amending laws to provide for stiffer penalties, trainings, establishing
specific units for violence against women, many other states have done
little or nothing. Much more needs to be done to protect women and
children.
Justice requires that society is ready and willing to hold
perpetrators accountable. Our outrage at hearing that a child has been
sexual molested, or that a woman was raped on our street, must become
tangible. This means that it begins to become unacceptable to argue in
any forum that there are reasonable justifications for rape such as
indecent dressing. These misogynistic excuses reflect only the contempt
in which we hold our female folk rather than sensible or even moral
arguments – we do not reach out to grab the packet of one hundred
thousand naira sitting within easy reach at the bank simply because we
were provoked.
It requires that the equality of men and women, boys and girls, be
recognised and promoted. It requires that from childhood we teach our
children that we cannot overpower others and take what rightfully
belongs to them by virtue of greater physical strength or gender. It
requires that “regular” people, religious institutions, social
organisations do the right thing – stand by a victim who insists on
justice instead of asking them to relent as I have often had to deal
with. It requires that we encourage victims to speak up with the full
knowledge that they will not be victimised a second time by revealing
what has been done to them.
On this International Women’s Day, with its very apt theme of
tackling violence against women, we hope that we re-engage, as a society
and as a state, with dealing with a problem that exists not only in
India but is pervasive and destroying lives here in Nigeria. It is time
to get serious about sexual violence.
culled from www.dailytimes.com.ng
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