An average number of ten thousand cases of rape occur every day in Nigeria only.
While 5% sought help, just 3.8% got help. Most of these rape victims that AREN’T DEAD struggle with depression and other kinds of mental health related problems due to stigmatisation.
Why are my emphasis on these numbers, you might want to ask?
Well, with the large number of rape cases happening everyday in the world, this topic is not well preached to the world. And the ones that are being spoken out to people are filled with wrong information, with no or little information on how to, if not eradicate totally, curb this dangerous act.
Rape is now seen as the ‘norms’ because of a WRONG myth that says: “Men’s sexual urge is uncontrollable, and these girls won’t stop dressing in ‘sexualising manners’.”
While growing up especially as women, we’ve been made to ingest unhealthy comparisons about gender and sex. Gender inequality isn’t something we woke up to, we were taught by our parents. It’s being passed across to generations and trust me, we’re reaping the fruits in multiple folds.
I’ve heard about lots of rape cases and it saddens my heart that whenever topics like these are being conversed, we hear comments like:
“Maybe the clothes she was putting on was revealing?”
“Why would she be walking alone at night? Is she a prostitute?”
“Men will always be men.”
“I heard the rapist asked her out before, but she refused. Why?”
And these comments are from Adults!!!
Clothes have never and will never be the reason for rape, it’s the rapist that’s sick in the head!
To buttress this, a museum was opened to collect clothes worn by rape victims during their attempt to counter the myths about clothes being the reason they’re raped. Most of them were putting on long gowns, trousers, etc. See??
There were even baby clothes in that exhibition.
The problem has never been the clothes but the rapists themselves. But then, even if these raped victims were putting on skimpy clothes, they didn’t categorically ask you to fuxkk them!! Right?? I mean, what happened to consent?? What happened to freedom of life?? You just defiled the law!!! Anybody and everybody should wear whatever the fuck they want!! Period!!
If clothes should be censored, then men should never be allowed to move shirtless again. Women shouldn’t be forced to see their torsos, you know??
Also, the time someone goes out should not be a reason for them to be raped, it’s going against our “freedom to move freely.” People are raped everytime of the day, heck women are raped in broad daylight. So you’re saying just so people will not raped, they shouldn’t move at night? Where’s the sense in that?? So people who work at night should quit their jobs to avoid being raped?? Let us be realistic and quit playing around. Rapists are basically psychos that need to be checked. In no circumstances should any form of rape be justified.
You know I had this friend then, let’s call her name Faith. Faith was a good friend of mine, we weren’t best friends, but we were pretty close. She was outspoken, funny and pretty. I envied her every attribute except her loudness, I’m more on the quiet side. I was the class captain of my class then, she was always on my noisemakers’ list. She would always disturb me in class, but she was bright. She would always come to me whenever she had bible quizzes. I just liked her personality.
Two weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic, the news was broken to me, Faith had died! She was raped to death! And some of her parts were taken! I was dumbfounded. Not the Faith I know. Not the outspoken Faith I know. Who had that audacity to do that to her?!! I cried, oh I wept! For days, I couldn’t sleep. I fell into a deep depression. I was heartbroken. Faith was all over the internet, my pain was a little bit eased. At least, justice would be served for Faith.
But I was wrong, the rapist wasn’t found, he fled. The police promised to find him, but ’til date, we haven’t heard anything. I’m sure there are other people like Faith whose news didn’t even get to be aired.
Rape victims will continue to be raped without their oppressors getting the punishment they truly deserve if we don’t speak up. The campaign against rape isn’t enough.
We need to conduct more, we need to enlighten people about rape.
You do realize husbands rape their wives and all these structures justify it?
It’s difficult to appropriate rape in one aspect and demonize it in another. Rape is NOT okay under any circumstances.
End Rape Culture!
We need to scream it to people’s ears like our lives depend on it because our lives truly depend on it!!!
We need to destigmatize the touches of shame aimed at rape victims!! That disgust you have for them, shift it to their oppressors, they need to be punished. The punishment for rape should be severe, they’re causing emotional damage to humans.
The necessary support should be given to rape victims WITHOUT excuses!! They’re humans, just circumstantial and systemic victims of rape.
The time to speak up and act is NOW.
Written by #TheNotGoodEnoughPoet.
