Rape In Nigeria Research Articles

Gender-Based Violence and Patriarchy: Nigeria’s Experience

Gender-based violence, which is mostly a physical, psychological, structural and/or cultural abuse of women by the male folk, has been a social malaise militating against women across Africa, and this is largely believed to be so because of the perceived complicity of Africa’s cultures which advertently or inadvertently favour patriarchy – a cultural belief and practice that places higher premiums on the male child over and above the female child. The recent upsurge in gender-based violence, particularly rape in Nigeria has raised serious concerns among scholars and concerned stakeholders as to whether the female folk have now become sub-human before the male folk. This paper, was therefore, aimed at interrogating the issue of violence against women, with a focus on exploring recent incidences of gender-based violence, particularly rape in Nigeria. Secondary sources of data (i.e. published articles, textbooks, the internet, etc.) were used. Findings revealed gender-based violence in Nigeria to be largely influenced by the age-long patriarchal practices. It was therefore, concluded that with a lack of severe punishment for the perpetrators of gender-based violence, coupled with a gross lack of cultural re-orientation to see women as having coordinate status as men, the issue of men-dominated gender-based violence will go on unabated in Nigeria. The paper equally offered germane recommendations.

Medical laboratory sciences and lectures a veritable tool in forensic science: A comparative review study of rape in Nigeria.

Medical laboratory sciences and lectures a veritable tool in forensic science: A comparative review study of rape in Nigeria.

The Need for The Entrenchment of Marital Rape in Nigeria’s Criminal Jurisprudence

The need for the entrenchment of marital rape in Nigeria's criminal jurisprudence is a pressing issue that requires urgent attention. Marital rape refers to any non-consensual sexual activity perpetrated by a spouse against their partner within the institution of marriage. Despite being a prevalent form of gender-based violence, marital rape is not explicitly recognized as a crime under Nigeria's legal framework. This paper examines the need for the entrenchment of marital rape in Nigeria’s Criminal jurisprudence. Marital rape is rampant in Nigeria, just like any form of rape. Marital rape victims have experienced a lot of psychological trauma, depression, emotional imbalance; the experience has resulted in divorce, medical, physical and mental health to its victims. Unfortunately, marital rape victim is unable to report their victimization to the appropriate authorities, this is because there is no law criminalizing marital rape in Nigeria. This paper further looks at the historical review of marital rape exemption, the theories about the exemption and need to criminalize marital rape in harmony with other jurisdiction. The paper therefore recommended the imperatives steps towards protecting the rights and well- being of individuals within the institution of marriage and legal support for victims of gender-based violence.

Violence Against Persons (Prohibitions) Act 2015; Unnecessary Repetition or an Elixir to the Law on Rape in Nigeria.

Violence Against Persons (Prohibitions) Act 2015; Unnecessary Repetition or an Elixir to the Law on Rape in Nigeria.

Jurisprudential Analyses of Consent and Rape in Nigeria: A Paradigm of Chrisland’s School Incident

Jurisprudential Analyses of Consent and Rape in Nigeria: A Paradigm of Chrisland’s School Incident

Pattern of rape and femicide during COVID-19 lockdown: content and discourse analysis of digital media reports in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Rape and associated femicide have stood out as the most typical forms of violence in Nigeria. There appears to be a paucity of information on the pattern of rape in Nigeria, particularly in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. We explored the pattern of rape and femicide incidences in Nigeria during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. A convergent mixed methods design, involving quantitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis was used to establish the pattern in rape and femicide incidences as reported in diverse digital media platforms. A total of 48 rape cases were investigated, of which 12.5% resulted in femicide. More than half (55.6%) of the rape victims were aged 11 to 20 and were predominantly female (97%). A large percentage (42.9%) of the rape perpetrators were between 31 and 45 years of age and were all male. The incidence of rape increased steadily from 5.1% in March to peak at 33.3% in June and declined sharply by the end of August 2020 to 5.1% with rape being more prevalent in Northern Nigeria. There is a need for urgent measures by relevant stakeholders to curtail rape in Nigeria.

A Pandemic within a Pandemic: COVID-19 and the Crime of Rape in Nigeria

A Pandemic within a Pandemic: COVID-19 and the Crime of Rape in Nigeria

The Nigerian State and the Challenges of Rising Cases of Sexual Assault Among Nigerian Citizens

The social vices rape “has been around” for a very long time, it is as old as humankind. It has been experiencing in almost all the countries of the world. However, in a country like Nigeria, the issue of rape among the people had been on the rising rate these days as many babies, aged and teenagers had been raped to death. It is in view of the above challenges that this paper examined the causes, impact and solutions to the rising cases of rape in Nigeria. The paper adopted the relative deprivation theory to validate its arguments, while data are gathered through the secondary methods as data are retrieved from books, articles, newspapers and internet materials. This paper argued that the major causes of the rising cases of rape in Nigeria are youth’s unemployment that is realized as a result of bad governance, and submit that good governance is the only lasting and perpetual solution to the rising cases of rape in Nigeria.

Soul Mate Selection Among Adolescents: The Kinetics and Health Perceptions and Interpretations

Soulmate is a brother/sister relationship, practiced and known by many people but just a few especially adolescents understand the exact meaning hence the need to provide adequate information regarding the selection. Adolescents have the tendency to deviate from social norms in search of identity and most often unsure of themselves as most of their experiences rest in the hands of their peer groups. Soulmate comes in form of stranger, healing, wrecking ball, twin and true love soulmates. These are highlighted in the elements of soulmate as one who makes you feel entirely whole, healed, and intact like no piece is missing. Adolescents make selection on the basis of physical attractiveness, economic and social status, age, religion. Finding a true soulmate result in having a feeling of security and protection, falling in love, sharing the same life goals, respect for each other’s differences and opinions. However, wrong mate choices could result in social and health consequences such as prostitution, medical problems and suicide. Kinetics and Health strongly emphasize on aesthetics, general wellness including spiritual wellbeing as strong indices of wellness which could be cached on during mate selection. Conclusively, mate selection is a matter of destiny ordered by God but as two loving people who have settled for each other’s strength or weakness, the decision is yours. The recommendation among others is that adolescents should be counseled to focus selection of mate on attitude as against physical attributes and made a priority among undergraduate students due to growing cases of rape in Nigeria. Key Words: Soulmate, Adolescent, Kinetics and Health DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/79-06 Publication date: August 31 st 2020

A Review of the Conceptual Issues, Social Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Efforts Relating to Rape in Nigeria.

Rape is an endemic criminal sexual behaviour in Nigeria and its perpetration not only violates survivors' dignity but also compromises their health and wellbeing. The rape-related data used in this traditional literature review are derived mainly from small-scale surveys conducted in Nigeria. The deviant behaviour could be perpetrated against both males and females of various socio-demographic characteristics; however, it is young females that are disproportionately more affected. The determinants of rape include factors that are associated with adverse social, cultural and economic conditions. In Nigeria the prevention and control of the practice involve stakeholders such as parents, Non-governmental Organisations, religious institutions, government ministries as well as government agencies that constitute the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system uses existing legal statutes on rape to arrest, prosecute, adjudicate, and punish offenders. The barriers to the control and prevention of rape in Nigeria include the following: inappropriate perception; social stigmatization; under-reporting; and cumbersome legal requirements needed to establish a case of rape. Strategies with potentials for curbing rape in the country include public enlightenment, multi-sectoral action, advocacy, amendment of rape-related laws; training targeted at personnel in health care and criminal justice systems and formulation of evidence-based policies.

A critical review of the jurisprudence of laws on rape in Nigeria and the impact of statute of limitations on prompt reporting of rape incidents

As high-profile cases of rape continue to make headlines in Nigeria and beyond-and as rape survivors appear to relent in reporting crimes- it can help to have a better understanding of the laws on rape and the reasons for delayed report of the crime as well as the effect of the statutory time frame within which legal actions can be instituted against perpetrators of rape. One effective way to curb or exterminate the menace of rape is by effective prosecution and punishment of offenders. However limitation statutes may deny citizen’s access to justice and it seems not to propel prompt report of rape incidents. This paper examines the Nigerian criminal law of rape and attempts a critical analysis of limitation statutes in selected forums in order to establish its probative value on reporting rape whilst identifying the reasons for delay in report and MEASURES to address same. Materials and methods: materials consulted are statutes, case laws and relevant literatures. Method applied is doctrinal methods and desk based/internet research. Results: probative and qualitative information on the state of the art in concerned areas researched on.

Child Rape in Nigeria, Implications on the Education of the Child

<em>The purpose of this study was to investigate child rape in Nigeria, its implications on the education of the child. Descriptive survey design was adopted. Three research questions guided the study. The population of the study was all the young parents in Nigeria whose female children are between 0-12 years old. Disproportionate random sampling was used to select 100 respondents each from 8 states out of 36 states in the country, making it 800 respondents. Structured questionnaire and interview were used to collect data from the respondents. Frequency, percentage and rank order were used to analyze the data collected for research question one. Mean, standard deviations and rank order were used to analyze data for research questions two and three. The findings revealed a high prevalence of child rape in Nigeria. The findings also identified in rank order; lack of reports on rape cases, mishandling of rape cases, child labour, children being left alone without care, men raping children for ritual purposes, indecent dressing as the causes of child rape. According to the findings, the effects of child rape in rank order include; emotional traumas, social stigma, sexual transmitted infections, termination of child’ life, low academic performance, physical pains and injuries, school dropout, poor attendance to school. Recommendations and implications were also made.</em>

Winning the Fight but Losing the Battle: Beyond the Successful Prosecution of Unlawful Carnal Knowledge of the Girl-Child in Nigeria

This paper examines the attitude of Nigerian courts to sentencing in the offence of unlawful carnal knowledge of the girl-child. It compares the positions of the two criminal statutes in Nigeria to unveil the sentencing limit allowable in Nigerian criminal jurisprudence and notes that the courts have habitually imposed far lower sentences than contemplated in the statutes. The paper concludes that awarding lighter sentences in cases of child rape in Nigeria has not served to remedy the mischief of male adult taking advantage of the innocence of children to defile them and that such sentencing pattern is against public policy in Nigeria. It recommends the way to correct this anomaly by appellate courts, so as to deter would-be pedophiles in Nigeria.

Boko Haram and sexual terrorism: The conspiracy of silence of the Nigerian anti-terrorism laws

Over the centuries rape has been used effectively by terrorist groups as a weapon of terror. In this context, women’s bodies are used by terrorists as battlegrounds, serving the dual purpose of spoils of war and a means of terrorising the populace. The Nigerian fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, has employed sexual terrorism in its campaign of terror against the Nigerian state and its people. Boko Haram has since 2013 embraced this tactic, which has led to the abduction of hundreds of women and girls, the most outrageous being the abduction of 276 ‘Chibok girls’ that has attracted global concern. The Nigerian government has responded to the upsurge of Boko Haram terrorism by enacting the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011, amended by the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013, aimed at criminalising terrorist activities. Unfortunately, this Act is silent on the use of rape to further the ends of terrorist groups. Relying on media reports and interviews, the article examines what appears to be a conspiracy of silence by Nigerian anti-terror legislation regarding the use of rape as a weapon in the hands of terrorists. By not making any reference to the use of rape as a terror tactic, the Act appears either to have glossed over the possibility of rape being used by terrorists, or chosen to ignore it in line with the culture of silence surrounding rape in Nigeria. The article concludes that the Terrorism Prevention Act urgently needs to be amended in order to criminalise sexual assaults targeted at women and young girls by Boko Haram and other terror groups in Nigeria, so as to adequately address the perception of acts of rape as extensions of terrorist activities.

Terrorism and Rape in Nigeria : A Cry for Justice

Unarguably, rape has been used as a weapon of war many times in the past century. Although rape has been defined within the international community as a crime against humanity and an integral component of genocide if it is part of a widespread or systematic practice, terrorists continue to use rape as a weapon of war. With an increase in terrorist activity motivated by religion, some terrorists believe that God not only approves of their action, but that God demands their action. One of these terror-groups is Boko Haram. A terror movement whose name translates into “western education is forbidden” in local Hausa dialect, Boko Haram has become a metaphor for insecurity in Nigeria since 2009. Even a casual observer who does not live in Nigeria has likely heard of Boko Haram’s abduction of over 200 school girls from Government Secondary School Chibok in Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria on 14 th April, 2014. Therefore, this paper using a qualitative method of data collection and analysis (relying on academic works and media reports); revealed that Boko Haram has abducted many women and girls in north-eastern Nigeria and has perpetrated numerous physical and psychological abuses against them in captivity. Despite inadequate government response to prevent attacks and protect victims, there have been few investigations and no prosecutions. And apart from the Chibok girls that escaped from Boko Haram camps, none of the other victims of abduction or other violations had received any government-supported mental health or medical care. Therefore the paper recommended adequate criminal justice, as well as government-supported medical, psychological and social initiatives to all the victims of rape in Nigeria.

Editorial: Violence Against Women Across the Globe

In keep with our global mental health theme for 2013, my editorial remarks this month will focus on violence against women across the globe. In my view, improved mental health for the world’s people can never be achieved without decreasing the violence perpetrated on girls and women. Since I became editor of this journal, we have published a number of special themed issues on this egregious violence, the most recent one being issue number 12 for 2012. That issue called attention to support for battered pregnant women, factors inhibiting women’s ability to separate from abusive partners, marginality of abused women, and constraints imposed by service agencies (Alhalal, 2012; Bhandari, 2012; Koci, 2012). The authors were eloquent, the research impressive. I am proud of this special issue. Yet, regrettably, the issue only scratched the surface of the immense international problem of violence against women, which involves female infanticide, childhood abuse of girls, rape of girls and women, genital mutilation, sex trafficking, and domestic violence. In daily news broadcasts, we hear of men throwing acid at girls in Bangladesh, gang rapes in Papua New Guinea, stoning of female “adulterers” in Afghanistan, and torture of female prisoners in Latin America. In recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25), Routledge offered free downloads of a number of articles from its journals, shedding further light on both universal and culturally-specific forms of violence against women. A sampling of topics included sexual assault of college women in the UK, marital rape in Nigeria, war-related rape in the Congo, violence against sex workers in Ethiopia, female genital mutilation in the African Sudanic belt, honor killings in Iraq, and sexual victimization of Asian American women (Banwell, 2012; Chika, 2011; Hague, Gill, & Begikhani, 2012; Kedir & Admasachew, 2010; Lee & Law, 2001; Phipps & Smith, 2012; Wilson, 2012). Once again, in perusing these articles I found eloquent authors and impressive research. The words of female victims, as quoted in the articles, haunt the reader. For example, a college student in the UK who had experienced as violent assault reported:

Legalization of marital rape in Nigeria: a gross violation of women's health and reproductive rights

The paper focuses on the volatile issue of legalization of marital rape in Nigeria. It examines; the meaning and historical development of health and reproductive rights; the legality of marital rape; the global trend towards criminalization of marital rape; and the numerous national and international provisions targeting the promotion and protection of women's health and reproductive rights. The paper also highlights a galaxy of institutionalized barriers that have grossly impeded the full realization and protection of women's health and reproductive rights in Nigeria. It finds that legalized marital rape in Nigeria is a gross violation of the health and reproductive rights of women in Nigeria and recommends inter-alia, an urgent review of section 6 and section 282 of the Nigerian Criminal and Penal Codes respectively to accord with current global trend towards criminalization of marital rape.

Socio-legal factors that influence the perpetuation of rape in Nigeria

The study looked into factors involved in the spread of rape in Nigeria, also requested for suggestions on how to curtail it. It used a 25-item questionnaire. It was used to gather information from 207 respondents who attended a national conference of guidance counsellors. Findings revealed that the police, judiciary, excessive drinking, frustration, indecent dressing, are factors that heavily contribute to the spread of rape. People of low socio-economic status and legislators contribute to the spread of rape. Holistic approach should involve diverse segments of the society (the governments, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions) the victims and their survivors. Members of the society should engage in both preventive and combative efforts.