For a change, the distracted National Assembly has woken up to the perils of rape in the country. At an emotionally charged plenary session recently, senators strongly condemned the growing epidemic of sexual deviancy across the country. The lawmakers raised salient issues, especially about the seeming weakness of the justice system to check the scourge. Although it is a belated intervention, the Senate should make its indignation count by invoking its legislative power against rape.
The Senate lamented “… the frightening increase in cases of sexual violence, notably rape, where more than half of the victims are minors (or) children below the age of consent.” In fact, this is putting it mildly. Sexual violence, including child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, molestation, rape within relationships and ritual abuse, has acquired a life of its own; it is now a malignant cancer gnawing at the society’s mores.
A depressing litany of cases, including an audacious act by a group of four secondary school pupils in Lagos who defiled their female colleagues in a senseless celebration of completing their final School Certificate examinations, underscores the true situation. After an uproar, the government put the suspects on trial. Just on Monday, Aminu Ibrahim, 57, was arraigned in Jos, Plateau State, by the police, accused of raping a nine-year-old child. The little girl’s mother lamented that the suspect lured the victim to his shop with a tin of milk and violated her.
In an uncommon exposé, an armed robbery suspect confessed to the police in Lagos “that he had raped no fewer than 30 women in the last three years.” In the four years to May 2015, Lagos State recorded 12,120 rape and sexual violence cases, said the government. In Kano State, the police arrested 96 suspects and charged 77 of them to court from 85 rape cases between April and May this year.
But rape is not committed by only criminals. According to Rape Crisis, a charity fighting the plight in Britain, rape is likely to be perpetrated not only by strangers, but “by someone known and even trusted, such as a friend, colleague, family member, partner or ex-partner.” In this category are the father, cousin or uncle, neighbour, teacher and religious associate. Last May, there was outrage in Kano State when the authorities found that a six-month-old child had been raped by a close family member. Plainly, this is horrible.
So, what is to be done? First, the Senate should not stop at just passing condemnatory motions. It has a powerful voice; it should make its anger count by tweaking the law on rape to make the punishment more severe for sex offenders. Due to technicalities, experts argue that the current law places too much burden on rape victims, which makes it difficult for the courts to convict rapists. This ought to be quickly amended. This was what the UK authorities did with the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which strengthened the anti-rape law.
After the fatal gang rape of a student in 2012, India tightened its rape laws, inserting the death penalty for serial offenders. In December 2013, the law was given full expression when four men were sentenced to death for the rape that led to the death of their 23-year-old victim. Likewise, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 increased the age of consent in India from 16 to 18 years.
Also, the role of the police is vital. Much like the rest of the society, the police also have a patriarchal attitude and are less likely to act on reports of rape and sexual offences. A majority of officers believe that women flirt and thereby court rape. This is far from the truth and there is no legal or moral excuse for rape. The solution is to redefine the law and make officers who cover up reports on rape to also face prosecution.
However, the law can be restrictive. This allows sex perverts to wriggle out of their misdeed. But the justice system should come to the rescue. Activist judges should take the lead by interpreting the law boldly, handing down tough punishment on sexual violators. Offenders are likely to be circumspect if they are certain that they will not escape justice.
As the pan-Europe practice shows, the federal, state and local police should build data banks on offenders. In 2004, Canada promulgated a new law against sex offenders. The law makes it mandatory for police to list convicts in a national register, including Canadians who have been convicted of sex offences abroad when they return home, and issue travel notifications to the concerned police organisations when those on the register are travelling out of their jurisdiction.
Thankfully, Lagos State established the register in 2014. By May 2015, 140 offenders had been recorded in the register. With the aid of technology, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode should deepen its operations. But this will serve little purpose if other states in the country do not establish their own registers because offenders can also escape to those states to perpetrate sex crimes. Therefore, states should take a cue from Lagos and share the data with each other for effectiveness.
More civil society groups and charities should take up the cases of victims, who are being denied justice and who cannot afford the medical treatment after being defiled. Charities should develop a counselling mechanism that will encourage victims to come forward and report violations. The Office of the Public Defender in Lagos and similar units in other states should vigorously prosecute rape cases. Counselling should help victims to deal with the stigma and trauma associated with rape.
Parents should be open with their children and discuss with them the signs of would-be rapists – whether at home, school or social and religious gatherings.
