Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving having a carnal knowledge, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person’s consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent. The term rape is, sometimes, used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.
Internationally, the incidence of rape recorded by the police during 2008 varied between 0.1 in Egypt per 100,000 people and 91.6 per 100,000 people in Lesotho with 4.9 per 100,000 people in Lithuana as the median.
According to the American Medical Association (1995), sexual violence, and rape in particular, is considered the most under reported violent crime. The rate of reporting, prosecution and convictions for rape varies considerably in different jurisdictions. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (1999) estimated that 91percent of U.S. rape victims are female and nine per cent are male.
Rape by strangers is usually less common than rape by persons the victim knows. Several studies argue that male-male and female-female prison rape are quite common and may be the least reported forms of rape.
It is most terrifying to note that the frequency of rape incidents today all over the world has doubled or even tripled according to statistics. All over from India to South Africa, Syria and even to Nigeria, the incidences of rape are now so common and it could even be seen in public places.
One begins to wonder how this generation has quickly lost its forms of moral and societal values despite the multiplicity of religious centres, schools and even breakthroughs recorded in technology and science.
Rape against the female gender seems to be rampant today. There are reported cases of little children less than one year being raped as well as grandmothers of over 70, also being raped.
Most petrifying is the fact that some of the rape victims have been killed by the rapists having been assaulted. Some victims have also killed themselves much later due to the pain and stigma associated with the act. It is indeed alarming how this level of wickedness has grown and expanded in our society.
The advent of the social media has also not helped matters in this regard. On July22, 2012, Cynthia Osokogwu, a post-graduate student of Nasarawa State University and a clothing retailer, was murdered in Lagos by friends she met on Facebook. The rapists lured her to a hotel in FESTAC Town, drugged and raped her before she was murdered.
Also, the incident when five undergraduates believed to be students of Abia State University conspired and raped a young woman is as well detestable. Despite the pleadings of the young girl, the young men still took turns to satisfy their devilish lusts on her. The videos of that incident shook the nation as investigation was launched into the incident but nothing seems to have come out of it till date.
In India, the Delhi gang rape and murder case that occurred on December 16, 2012 in Munrika, a neighbourhood located in the southern part of New Delhi, when a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern was beaten and gang raped in a private bus in which she was travelling with a male friend. There were six others in the bus, including the driver, all of whom raped the woman. The woman died from her injuries 13 days later while undergoing emergency treatment in Singapore.
The incident generated widespread national and international coverage and was widely condemned, both in India and abroad. Subsequently, public protests against the Government of India and the Government of Delhi for not providing adequate security for women took place in New Delhi, where thousands of protesters clashed with security forces. Similar protests took place in major cities throughout the country.
These and a whole lot more sum up the level of decadence bedeviling our society. No one seems safe these days in the hands of rapists. It is up to all of us that make up the society to rise up and root out rape from our midst.
As it is, everyone has a role to play in the eradication of this menace from our society. From homes to religious gatherings, schools to events, the gospel of anti-rape should be preached with all forms of seriousness and vehemence.
Enough is enough of this monster that has developed into the biggest crime in our society. Stiffer laws should be created for offenders just like kidnappings and murder, because rape has helped to rob our society some of its best hands.
From government quarters to private quarters, rape should be given a serious attention before we lose our female population to a group of persons who have lost all forms of dignity. The fight against rape should be total and there should be no sacred cows in the battle against it. All hands must be on deck to ensure that rape is finally expunged from our society.
Everyone has a role to play in tackling this societal cancer. Lawmakers must create stiffer laws, the Judiciary must dispatch justice with speed to offenders and we all must also be our brothers’ keeper and also report any case of rape to the relevant authorities.
Sam, graduating student of Curriculum and teaching, UNICAL
