Social media
has been on fire recently. Tweets, Stories, Statuses. All centered on the fact
that people are no longer at peace with the incidences of these evils – Racism and Rape. So broad are they that
only one will be discussed in this post, being rape.
Rape is a
phenomenon that dates even back to biblical times. The term denotes the act of
forcing sexual intercourse on someone, against their will or without their
consent. It is far from as simple as it sounds.
Even though
this subject is currently being seriously tackled and huge awareness being
raised on it, many fear that it could turn out to be just another trend despite
how critical it is. It is fact that around 60-80% of rape cases are unreported.
Such a percentage shows how poorly this evil has been treated.
THE PERPETRATOR
One of the
mistakes that attempts are being made to correct now, is that generally,
society views the victim of rape as being either the reason or at least a
contributor to why it happened. This factor no doubt contributes to the low
percentage of reports as the victim’s family bear the stigma and shame
accompanying it. Young women of childbearing age are the most targeted as
opposed to prepubescent and post-reproductive-age women.
There is no
accepted theory as to why people rape. Different factions disagree over
postulated explanations over the subject. Why would someone inflict physical
and psychological damage on another? Could it be the background or family
upbringing? Not really, though studies
show that rapists develop tendencies from much younger ages, even from high
school. The patriarchal nature of any culture cannot be blamed either as this
is a global phenomenon and not just a man-woman issue, but also reverse, and man-man
too (though we’re looking at the more common one - that of women). Could it be the fault of their nature or their
experiences? It is not news that some rapists carry out the act as a means of
getting back at ladies who rejected or even attempted to reject their advances.
Rape is a
decision on the part of the perpetrator. A thought-out one most of the time.
Certain factors like alcohol consumption, or temperament are not
justifications. Rape is not attributed to mentally instable people, or any
other class. Rapists rape. And most tend to repeat it.
“If you don’t understand perpetrators,
you’re never going to understand sexual violence”
Sherry Hamby
THE VICTIM
Like earlier
mentioned, women have been rape victims even during biblical times. The victim
of rape suffers physically as it is forced. Many bear permanent scars dealt to
them as they resist. Many others abound, with the worst being that the victim
has a high likelihood of getting killed. Psychologically, it could result in
lifetime trauma. Stigmatization by society doesn’t help matters. Nightmares
even during the day are usually the lot of the victim as recalling the feeling
of helplessness cannot usually be helped. Cases of suicide following rape are
well-documented. Another risk is the possibility of the victim getting pregnant
and the fear of it in itself is a huge source of the emotional distress that
accompanies the incident.
The science
behind the perpetrator’s mind or the pain of the victim cannot be truly defined
or fully explained. What is sure is that rape is an evil that cannot be
overstated and should be treated as such. Youth and kids should be sensitized
on the gold of consent, and the traps of bad peer groups. Rape cases should be
treated with far more seriousness than they currently are.
The case of
Uwa, an undergraduate at UNIBEN once again hammers that indecent dressing is
not a prerequisite for rape. Rape is a
decision.
Avoid lonely places and night activity. If you
must, move in groups. Protect yourself too, pepper sprays will not be unneeded
anytime soon. And as we hope that one day society will understand that even ‘sex
workers can be raped’, stay safe and not just from Corona Virus.
Share your
own information, fact, disagreement, motion et cetera.
DO COMMENT.
12 comments
Bob...thank you for this beautiful piece
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad it resonated well with you... My pleasure indeed
DeleteReally....something
ReplyDeleteThank you very much... It means a lot
DeleteWhat a brilliant saying,most people need to hear of these.keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much... Let's get it out there
DeleteThis is indeed a nice piece and the world ought to hear/read it...
ReplyDeleteThey will indeed. Thanks a lot
DeleteThank you so much much, this is really nice.please let try helping those victims by encouraging or assisting rather than leaving them with such trauma
ReplyDeleteTreating them as the factors that led to the incident will do far greater harm and even no good. Thanks for sharing this
DeleteThat was awesome and of good impact...
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot
DeleteGlad you felt that