Child sexual abuse- are men going insane?

Image: channelstv.com

 What are our men turning into for Christ sake!

Every day you flip through the pages of a Nigerian newspaper you would read stories of how an innocent girl child was sexually violated by a man old enough to be her grandfather and you begin to wonder what the world is turning into.

The rape of the girl child is a new form of crime against women in Nigeria and it is currently gaining speed.

Some of the reports which figured in some national dailies lately in Nigeria are as follows:

• Man, 35, arraigned for raping and infecting lovers’ 8 and 6-year old daughters with HIV in Makurdi- DailyPost, Oct 17, 2014  
• 25-year-old Ogun man arrested for raping 3-year-old girl- The Punch, Sept. 17, 2014  
• Man, 27, imprisoned for raping 2-year-old girl in Osun- Vanguard, Feb 11, 2014  
• Police arrest man for raping 3-year old girl in Niger state- Leadership newspaper, Feb 3, 2014  
• Police nab man, 60, for raping 12-year-old in Ogun State- Vanguard, Jan. 30, 2014  
• Man, 25, rapes 8-year-old pupil, says: “I could not afford a mature woman for sex” - Prime news, Jan 16, 2014

This is barbaric and heartless. Have they lost their minds?

It is quite baffling in every sense and I will never understand what these men find sexually appealing in these little angels.

My heart bleeds as I write this. It is a heinous crime to rape a woman even though some perpetrators might try to justify themselves before men but raping a child is far beyond comprehension. What makes these men see these innocent butterflies as birds? Or could it be that a special kind of violent demon possesses their hearts and use them to commit such bizarre crime with no remorse? What is really going on?

Some people have sometimes (partly) blamed a raped victim for reasons ranging from the way she dressed, the way she unconsciously seduced men in the neighborhood, how she displayed her nature blessings and all of that. These reasons, to me, are devilish. There’s no reason sound enough for any man to forcefully have carnal knowledge of a woman. But, what reason(s) will a man of 60 or 27 years put forward for sexually violating the innocence of a helpless child. Such men must be insane to even imagine such in the first place but even insane men still have an iota of conscience in them. So, I am short of a proper description for such persons.

I took a break from writing this piece to picture the faces of some toddlers I have seen around and what I saw was innocence, purity, and humility. Children are never selfish, are not two-faced. They say things the way they are. If a child tells you (s)he loves you there’s no reason to doubt that. Now, a man looks at all of these and makes his rotten intentions real without a second thought on the pungent memories of pains the child would go through. Not to mention the physical pains. I am dazed!

This is the highest degree of animalism, insensitivity and cruelty to any woman anywhere.

For me, rapists should be punished the same way as paid killers because in rape the joy of a woman or a child is taken away from her and replaced with anguish. Rape is worse than taking the life of another with a gun or by any means.

They are like wild animals who have refused to remain in the bush and since they have decided to live amongst us, they should be singled out and carefully kept away in chains.

I looked at the Nigerian Criminal Code Act (1990) to find out the punishment reserved for these savages and here is what sections 357, 358 and 359 says:

357: Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm, or by means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act, or, in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband, is guilty of an offence which is called rape

358: Any person who commits the offence of rape is liable to imprisonment for life, with or without caning.

359: Any person who attempts to commit the offence of rape is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years, with or without caning.

Read the rest here

I shook my head after reading this because I don’t see much of it happening in this time and the question I want to ask is this: If the punishment spelt out in sections 358 and 359 are being enforced to the later why then are most of these dangerous elements still roaming our streets and ready to pounce on any of these gentle souls? These could be the answers.

For fear of stigmatization or dent on their public image, most parents often mute rape cases because, for them, they don’t want to cause more pain to the girl child or to themselves. Have it in mind that as a parent, when you do this, what you have practically done is given the rapist the nudge to go on in his trade.

We are very religious in this country and most religious groups preaches forgiveness. Some parents who see their religious leaders as their god on earth would take every word they say as though they come directly from God. If a religious leader tells the parents of a rape victim to “Forgive and forget” and at the end of the day the case is withdrawn and the rapist is let loose in the street again. For me, forgive and forget but make sure that whoever that hurts your daughter sexually faces the wrath of the law squarely. By doing so, I am sure you must have saved another child from being sexually abused and the god you serve will be pleased with you.

Most of the perpetrators of this crime are men who are VERY close to the child and parents sometimes do everything to shield such persons from the law and public ridicule .

A lady once told me she “hated her father with passion” and when I asked her why she told me that she was sexually abused by one of her uncles (her father’s brother) when she was much younger and when she summoned the courage and told her father about it, her father shut her up with a hot slap in the face. According to her, her father acted this way because her uncle was a major support to their family.

Which parent does that for goodness sake?!

The way forward.

This issue is worrisome and needs urgent attention before it gets out of control? It is not enough to recoil in horror when we read or hear about them, more has to be done.

Firstly, Let the Law that prohibits rape in Nigeria be fully implemented and I want to point out that apart from a man’s penis, a girl child can also be sexually abused through other means and the Nigerian Law against rape didn’t recognize that. So, I want to suggest that the law be adjusted to accommodate these obvious realities.

Secondly, parents should protect their children. No parent should hand over the care of their child to anybody who has a fishy behavior and as a mother you should check your daughter’s privacy from time to time especially if you are surrounded by weird idle men. When a man in the neighborhood touches your daughter indecently all the time, watch it for more could be coming.

I acknowledge the fact that things are quite harsh for some families in this country but sending your underage children to hawk in the streets is not an option. It is very dangerous. No parent should allow that if the safety and joy of their children means anything to them.

Thirdly, people should quit stigmatizing rape victims or their families. It is no fault of theirs that they found themselves in such predicaments. Have it in mind that the beasts who perpetrate this crime have no special list of women they rape so it just could be anybody.

Fourthly, it should be sounded in the ears of all rapists and intending rapists on what the Law says concerning rape. It baffles me that some men actually believe that having carnal knowledge of a girl child would cleanse them of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, or even make them wealthy. These beliefs must be coming from the pit of hell. This is 21^st century for crying out loud. You mess up the life of a young child all in the name of finding cure to the ailment you got from being careless with your life. God will hold you responsible for this even if the law gives you a pat on the back.

Finally, all relevant authorities should wake up to this challenge. I may be wrong but it seems to me that this issue is treated with a kid’s glove here. At the beginning of this piece I cited some instances of child rape from some of our national dailies. One should expect the authorities responsible for dealing with these beasts to have made it known to the general public that they have been convicted and serving their terms but whoosay! Some have gotten bail and are back on their hunt.

Some are still in police cells and will be set free whenever the tides chills. This is really not fair to the victims, to the parents and to the society in general. It is, in real sense, a mockery to section 358 of the Criminal Code. Justice should be served and on time too.

In another news, information flying around has it that the Nigerian Federal Government has reached an agreement with Bokoharam for the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls. If this is anything to go by, our girls should be back in no time. Don’t forget to remember them in your prayers.