THE SOCIO-LEGAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS RAPE VICTIMS IN NIGERIA DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Rape has long been a brutal part of the- human history of forceful sexual intercourse against a person who is weakened, unconscious or powerless of giving valid permission. The documented rise in sexual violence in Nigeria especially people with poor socio-economic legislators and status is not only to attributed to excessive drinking and indecent dressing but men superiority or the support of culture and beliefs that rape is a sign of maleness the fear of stigmatization, extortion from law enforcement, and lastly lack of confidence in the judicial system. However, there is paucity of literature on how socio-legal attribute on rape victims in Nigeria. Hence, this study investigated the effect of socio-legal attitude toward rape victims in Nigeria. The study employed survey research design. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 1000 respondents to obtain information on relevant issues through the aid of Google. Results from the study show that majority of the respondents had a negative attitude towards rape victims. There was an effect on gender differences in the attitude of Nigerians to male rape victims based on gender differences with a p-value < 0.05 (0.000, X2 = 197.307). Therefore, we failed to reject the alternate hypothesis. There was an effect in the attitude of Nigerians to female rape victims based on gender differences with a p-value < 0.05 (0.000, X2 = 18.955). Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected.In conclusion, there is a need for public health education on rape and as well encouragement of victims to report cases with an assurance of their safety. Specialized women’s right organizations that should provide capacity building support and logistics services to youths and students in higher institutions and more studies should be carried out to identify the perception of gender-based rape among specific regions in the country and assessment of rape myths and factors that make them.