Every day, thousands of young girls, ladies and women are raped in Nigeria. That most of the victims of this hideous crime do not report to the appropriate authority does not mean it's not happening. And the perpetrators of this inhuman crime are people well known to the victims; friends, neighbours, classmates, colleagues, and intimate partners (boyfriends, fiancée and husbands).
Victims of rape are left with severe emotional and psychological problems even after recovering from the physical damage suffered from the ordeal. The perpetrators are either left to go scot-free after bribing their way out of being prosecuted, or they are not prosecuted at all because of their relationship with the victim (i.e boyfriends and husbands). It's highly disturbing to note the trivial and permissive attitude we display towards the crime of rape. The victim's parents discourage their child from seeking redress under the law because of fear of being stigmatized. Instead of facing the world and standing by their child, they will rather blame the poor girl for the ordeal or instruct her to keep silent and disclose the incident to no one.
The most terrifying aspect of it is that apart from the normal medical procedures performed on rape victims, the victims are almost never given any psychological evaluation or treatment. They are left unattended. Though hurting, most parents feel it's best to close the chapter of the abuse and bury it as fast as possible. Some victims do not even bother to disclose their ordeal to their parents because they know what their reaction would be from observing the way they handled a similar case of an older sister, aunt or cousin. They know they will not have the support a rape victim needs. They know they will only be condemned, blamed, beaten or attacked by the very people they need their love and support most.
So instead of exposing themselves to more abuse, rape victims keep the abuse suffered a secret. Sometimes the victims tell themselves that even if their parents and family believe in them and will not blame, condemn or attack them, they still keep the abuse secret because they know their families will do nothing in getting justice for them. They know the family will, in trying to protect the family name from public shame and stigmatization, bury the incident. On the side of the perpetrators, 95% of the time, their parents think the right thing to do is to shield their sons from facing the consequences of their actions. Though the parents shout at, threaten and sometimes give the boys a slap or two, they do everything in their power to ensure they go unpunished. They use their money, position, power and influence to achieve this. They rationalize and justify the act of rape committed by their sons, even to the point of engaging in victim blaming. It was the girl that enticed/seduced him etc.
The perpetrators know that they have the support of their parents, so they lack remorse, shame or sobriety about the crime and injustice they have committed against another human being. A human being they have damaged and crippled by their selfish evil act. The law enforcement agents that are supposed to come to the aid of victims and their loved ones are often compromised because of greed and corruption. They fail in their constitutional responsibilities, thereby failing the nation and its citizens.
To be continued . . .
Life is to be enjoyed and not to be endured!
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