The Stigmatisation Of Rape And Sexual Assault

The United Nations launched a campaign three days ago called Orange The World, a sixteen-day campaign that works towards ending violence against women and girls. The ultimate goal being to educate global citizens on violence. Violence comes in different forms – physical, sexual and psychological and it is a global pandemic that takes place in both public and private spaces. According to the United Nations, one in three women and girls experience violence in their lifetime. For example, globally, women between the ages of fifteen to twenty-four are two times more at risk of HIV than men of the same age.

It is of no surprise anymore that Nigeria is not one of the most comfortable countries to live in as a survivor of rape. As a victim, you are often blamed while your perpetrator walks free and finding the right psychological care to overcome such a traumatic experience can be near impossible. Both men and women can be victims of rape and sexual assault, however statistics show that rape is more prevalent amongst women. From marital rape to abuse from a stranger, it is hard to feel safe as a Nigerian female. Drugs such as Rohypnol are sold in pharmacies all over the country and they are used as date-rape pills on a regular basis. Hardly anything is being done to stop such heinous acts.

A couple days ago, Prince Abubakar Audu passed away. Audu was at the finish line of the Kogi Governorship Elections and while many where shocked and taken aback by his death, a handful of people were celebrating his death but it didn’t take long for us to realise why. About a year ago, a story went viral of a girl (whose name was kept anonymous at the time) was raped by sons of Prince Audu and some of their associates. Although “Sugabelly” (as she is known on social media) had shared her story on her blog, she came out with a post that went viral once Prince Audu passed away. I read her post and said to myself: “This is not going to be another case of assault that gets taken lightly. Something must be done and I am going to do all that I can to help.”

The 2013 Sexual Offences Bill states that a person commits rape if 2 (a) he or she intentionally and unlawfully commits an act which causes penetration with his or her genital organs; (b) the other person does not consent to the penetration or; (c) consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind. It is unlikely that what is known can secure a conviction. Sometimes, the law is not as straight forward as we’ll like and although we are “democratic”, women continue to suffer every day due to the fact that silence is often the safest and easiest way to get through such violation.

Sugabelly is not the first victim of rape and she certainly wont be the last in Nigeria. What makes her situation so painful is the fact that the power of money and politics in Nigeria has placed her in a risky position for nine years. The fact that politics can place such an unfortunate power over you is frightening for our current generation and it is a trend that we can end. Please read her story and understand the situation that she has been in. Together, we can stop this pandemic.

http://sugabellyrocks.com/2015/11/surviving-mustapha-audu-and-his-rape-brigade.html