Long Silence By Rape Victims Encouraged Upsurge In Cases – Expert

By Solomon Odeniyi

A gender advocate, Ademola Adebisi has attributed the increase in rape cases to the long silence of victims and their families.

According to Adebisi, Nigerian society has always been taking cases of rape for granted by concealing the dastardly act, adding that if the cases had been reported and prosecuted, the scourge would not have become endemic.

Ademola , who is the Executive Director of Value Reorientation Community Enhancement spoke with OSUN DEFENDER in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

He opined that bad policies from the government also contributed to the spike in rape cases, adding that the menace has assumed another dimension in Nigeria where assailants kill their victims after having carnal knowledge of them, a development he described as worrisome.

Ademola said: “We have been waking up to the news of rape incidence across the country. Why we are having it bad at this period is because we took the issue of rape for granted in our society till it becomes endemic. Some of our people are covering up rape cases.

“Rape in the country has assumed another dimension; it is worrisome that the offenders don’t just rape but they now kill their victims. The society’s long silent and cover up for rapists is one of the reasons for what we are experiencing. Another reason is government bad policies, silent by the victims because of stigmatization by the people.”

He called for the implementation of the Violence Against Persons Law, saying that it was one of the ways rape could be reduced to the barest minimum in the country.

“We have a law in place already that stipulates punitive punishment for sexual offenders in the country and has been domesticated by many states and you wonder why rape is still on the rise? Implementation is our problem in this country, even the enforcers of the law do not know that the law exists.

“There must be public awareness of the law and implications of breaching the law, law enforcement agents and policy makers must be well trained on the implementation of the law”, he stressed.

Ademola also advocated for aggressive reorientation and sensitisation for the male child at the formative stages of their lives on how to be able to handle sexual rejections and also not see the female folks as a sex objects.

Advising rape victims on how to deal with the trauma, he said:  “A rape victim can deal with the trauma that comes with falling victim of the scourge. Victim must quickly get help from psychologist and must speak out about their experiences.”