Rape On the Increase

February 4, 2005 - (Daily Champion - Lagos) Three years ago, 2002, Police statistics showed that four to six females were raped daily in Lagos. But 60 per cent of rapes in the area was said to be unreported officially. Subsequent official and newspaper reports indicate that the frequency of rape, especially of minors, has rapidly increased nationwide, particularly in such cities as Lagos, Enugu and Cross River State. By official estimate, 70 per cent of the cases was not reported officially.

Accounts of reported rapes reveal that the rapists are largely the victims' custodians, or persons paid to protect the society. A three-year-old baby was reported raped, last November, by a headmaster of her school in Lagos. Almost during the same period, three other babies, aged 3, 4 and 5, were similarly raped in Lagos, Jos and Asaba. The other horrifying dimension of rape was illustrated by the case of the two female undergraduates, aged 17 and 18, of the Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), reportedly raped by three police officers, employed to protect lives and property of Nigerians.

The manner of the rape of the two undergraduates is very troubling. It throws up an awful picture of law enforcement officers turned to law breakers. It also shows the height of psychological trauma suffered by rape victims. Worse still, as reportedly shown by medical reports, one of the rapist police officers, tested positive to HIV/AIDS, while another, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), was a syphilis patient.

The two police officers kidnapped the undergraduates near their homes on Ogui Road, Enugu, at about 6.30pm, on false charges of cult-related activities. The girls were forcefully driven to the police quarters of the Police Detective College in the city, where another police corporal, joined the other two police officers to intimidate and torture the girls and to subject their victims to many bouts of sexual intercourse throughout the night.

One immediate danger of rape is the likely transmission of sexual diseases to the victim of rape. There is much fear of the two raped undergraduates being infected with AIDS and syphilis. The other dangers of rape are unwanted pregnancy and disruption of educational careers. An official report shows that there is a high percentage of unwanted pregnancies in the country today. This largely accounts for high rate of female school dropouts. None of these consequences reflects the depth of psychological trauma and stigmatisation suffered by rape victims. Rape is a serious crime.

Section 357-60 of the Criminal Code confirms that. But the Nigerian society is presently not fighting the crime with the seriousness it deserves. One major drawback is the inability or unwillingness of the victims or their relations to report the case officially. This is confirmed by police reports, compiled from 1999 to 2001, which showed a steady decline in reported rape cases due to "fear of stigmatisation and threat to life." By similar official counts, "for every 10 cases of rape, seven were not reported," for the same reason.

Furthermore, the long, sluggish process of delivering judgement in rape cases discourages victims and their relations from seeking redress in the law court. And by the time a victim makes up her mind to report formally, after much hesitation, the relevant evidence, such as the presence of semen and traces of attack, must have disappeared completely, without the relevant medical report obtained.

The hindrances encourage objectionable treatment of criminal case of rape as a civil matter by the Nigerian society. Many established cases of rape were settled out of court, on payment of compensation to the victims. This gave the alleged rapist DSP the audacity to opt to settle his victims' medical bills as punishment for an offence capable of causing permanent physical, psychological and emotional harm to the victims.

For a society that offers little else than stigma and shame to rape victims, the ESUT undergraduates' bravery in reporting their case is exemplary and worthy of emulation by similar victims. The starting-block in the societal fight against rape is public enlightenment, aimed at highlighting the menace of rape and educating females on how to protect themselves against rapists. It will also obliterate the taboo attached to rape victims and encourage them to expose rapists.

Increasingly, and rightly, non-governmental organisations and women associations are taking it upon themselves to assist in this regard. In line with the current campaign against rape by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), the Nigerian media, religious and community leaders should join in the fight against the singular violence against females.

The other weak weapon against rapists is the punishment, which has been ridiculously reduced to cash or fine, or to a few months behind the bars. Rape victims should be encouraged to reject compensation. Indeed, the law court should impose stringent punishment, not less than four years' imprisonment, prescribed by the penal code. Additionally, the identity of rapists, should not be shielded from the public. Their presence in any neighbourhood should be publicised, to caution their neighbours to protect themselves and their wards from possible rapist attacks.

The punishment for rape must be severe to serve as a deterrent to potential rapist. If the high rate of the crime must begin to diminish, the society must begin to treat it as an abomination, not as a tolerable offence.

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200502040108.html