Sexual
violence is a major public health risk and takes many forms, with rape of women
and girls quite common. According to The World Health Organization (WHO) sexual
violence refers to “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted
sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against
a person's sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their
relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home
and work.” Rape happens to be one type
of sexual violence and remains one of the most leading forms of violence perpetrated
towards women and in rare cases, men. It has devastating effects on the victim as
they are ostracized and the society loses its reputation.
According
to the United Nation Women campaign against gender-based violence,
Approximately 15 million adolescent girls (aged 15-19) worldwide have
experienced forced sex (forced sexual intercourse or other sexual acts) at some
point in their lives. Also, anywhere between 13 per cent and 45 per cent of
women in sub-Saharan Africa experience sexual violence by a non partner or
intimate partner at some point in their lives. UNICEF reported in 2015 that one
in four girls and one in ten boys in Nigeria had experienced sexual violence
before the age of 18. To further compound this startling figures, Mohammed
Adamu, Nigeria recorded one rape every five hours between January and May 2020.
A vast number of the cases of sexual violence in Nigeria go unreported. This is
largely due to fear on the part of the victim of being socially stigmatized or
blamed. For instance, in 2017, there were 2,279 reported cases of rape and
incident assault with zero conviction.
Rape
violates a number of basic human rights listed in international laws cum charters.
The UN Action Against Sexual Violence 2007, considers gender-based violence,
including sexual violence, as a violation of fundamental human dignity and
rights. Considering that it affects children, as we have a handful of cases of
children being raped, the Article 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, requires the state to “protect the child from all forms of sexual
exploitation and sexual abuse” including “the inducement or coercion of a child
to engage in any unlawful sexual activity.” Going by the definitions of rape
and sexual violence based on force, threat of force, and coercion, Article 34
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, protects the girl and boy child
because they are more easily targeted, forced, threatened and coerced than
adults.
In
recent weeks, as the country continues to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, there has
been alarming number of increased sexual violence against women around the
country. On this heel lies litany of rape cases, with the chilling case of Uwavera
Omozuwa, known as Uwa, who was brutally raped and bludgeoned to death. This is
increasingly the reality for women and girls in Nigeria with little response
from the government. Nigeria’s laws do not sufficiently protect the rights of
women and girls. The existing laws do not adequately address sexual violence.
The death of Uwa and others like her should act as a wake-up call for Nigeria legislators
to pass a law against rape, and other forms of sexual violence. Also the
government should investigate and prosecute all forms of sexual violence, and
ensure appropriate sentences are given.
The
lackadaisical response of the government to make laws and put stringent punitive
measures to bring a halt to this menace only suggest a scratch on the surface
of what a comprehensive response should entail. While the provisions of the law
in sexual violence cases are as not clear and problematic as it can get in
application, in that they permit very light sentences that are inadequate to
genuinely deter or punish such grave crime. Stringent measures to combat sexual
violence are all the more urgent in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and
beyond, because the lockdown occasioned by pandemic has been pointed at as a
leading cause of high rates of violence, as evidenced by spikes in sexual and domestic
violence around the world, including Nigeria.
It
has been observed the justice system is hostile towards victims of rape and it
is equally common that judgments lean towards fines over incarceration. Rape is
an extreme form of abuse with long-term consequences for victims. Nigeria’s
criminal law provisions need to reflect on that. The government needs to ensure
that victims of rape can access the justice system in a meaningful and less
complicated way. Victims who have been abused already still suffer from a
hostile justice system. There are several accounts of survivors of sexual violence
who make reports, but must navigate a dysfunctional system that discourages
victims from pressing charges, coupled with judicial investigative procedures
that are not gender-responsive, and can turn into a probe of the moral
character of the victim. This can only lead to re-traumatization , and provides
inadequate victim-support services.
In
the bid to improve the legal landscape for women, girls, children and survivors
of sexual violence, it is the responsibility of the government under
international human rights law to come up with laws, punishment and accessible justice
system to combat the menace of sexual violence. Our current laws falls short of
international standards in several ways, the laws should make explicit
provision that criminalizes every form of sexual violence. The government should
communicate zero tolerance for sexual violence and ensure that support and
other assistance are available to victims and survivors, or families to report
incidences, and also set procedures to intervene, and assist victims and survivors
by ensuring they are protected and they get justice at the end. It should not
take another life for the government to address the issue of sexual violence,
because failure to do so will cost more lives.
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