About Rape in Nigeria

(Excerpts from an interview with Barr. Ruth Evon Benson Idahosa)

Statistics and the Law in Nigeria:

One out of every four lady in Nigeria has been raped.

Rape is the unlawful sexual intercourse of the vagina, mouth or anus with or without force, by a sexual organ or any object, without the consent of the other person.

In Nigeria, apart from in Abuja, this definition only covers the vagina.

The law in Nigeria makes it difficult for people to be convicted of rape. For example, the law in Nigeria requires an eye witness or a medical report confirming the incidence.

Only about 5% of rape offenders in Nigeria are actually convicted. Another reason apart from how difficult the law has made it; is that most people do not report rape in Nigeria.

What goes on in the minds of people who are raped:

So many people are ignorant of what goes on in the mind of people who are raped. People who are raped give themselves terrible labels. They have shame and fear and they live with low self esteem. They feel used and abused and they walk around with a sense of guilt and shame.

You may not see these labels on the outside because nobody writes anything on their heads but this is what is happening on the inside of somebody when a man or woman forces themselves upon someone else. They now have to struggle and press through all of these to believe in getting healing and restoration.

So one out of every four women around you is probably going through this horrible feelings right now; .. living with shame, fear, guilt and low self esteem.

A Painful Scenario:

And what seems to happen in Nigeria is that we tend to blame and shame the victim as if it was her fault. I don’t care if she is walking around naked though she shouldn’t be, but you as a man should be able to control your body. You don’t have to force yourself on a woman. It is absolutely ridiculous.

One reason many women don’t report rape is because they don’t believe that the system will support them.

Recently a woman in her fifties who is a mother of three children was gang raped while coming home from choir practice. Of course it was not because of what she was wearing which was a buba and wrapper. When she went to the police station to report the crime, the police told her to bring N2,500 (two thousand five hundred Naira) to start the case.

Now this is a woman who sells plantain on the street and she didn’t have N2,500. So she turned away and did not proceed with the case.

We live in a culture that shames and forces the survivor to be silent when the stigma really should be on the person who raped the survivor... but we have it backwards and part of what we are hoping to do at Pathfinders is to really change that cycle.

The role of the Church:

In my opinion the church is not doing enough on the issue of rape. Many times the church just sweeps it under the rug. Many times when a case is reported, say by a parent concerning their daughter, the church will say we need forgiveness and healing; … but we are the justice that God required on this earth! You cannot stand there and watch a 5 year old or 6 year old be gang raped by 3 men and then tell me you need forgiveness. They need to be in jail!

God’s justice does not just require compassion; God’s justice requires action. And so you as the body of Christ or as the pastor, needs to stand up and say “no, we no just gree for this one at all. I will go with you to the house, we will carry the guy, oya oya, police….”! 

And the reality is that the penalty for rape in Nigeria now is life imprisonment. As a Christian I don’t believe in death penalty. I don’t believe you should kill anybody, but anybody who takes a 5 a year old child, a 10 year old girl or an 11 year old boy and forces themselves on that person, needs to be in jail for the rest of their lives.

Avoiding Rape and what a person should do if raped:

Many times we teach our girls how not to get raped; like don’t wear short skirts, don’t go to his house, don’t do this don’t do that, but we also need to be teaching our boys – don’t rape women! It’s that simple.

If someone has been raped, what I want you to understand is that it was not your fault. Nobody should be forcing themselves upon you. That is illegal and God does not condone it under any circumstances.

So if you have been raped, the first thing you have to do is get some medical evidence. Go to a hospital and get an evidence you can use in court for the case.

The next thing you have to do is get some help.

I know many married women in their marriages that are unable to have pleasurable sexual relationships with their husbands because they were raped as children or as teenagers.

My organization Pathfinders Justice Initiative is here for you:

We offer FREE help to any survivors of rape.

We have a help line you can call at any time, it is +2348176123228, we have lawyers that will support you in court, we have counselors that will provide you with FREE services, so please don’t keep this inside because what it does is it kills you slowly. It kills you slowly on the inside. So know that there is free help available to you.

Make a decision that you will not allow yourself stay in that situation.

Barr. Ruth Evon Benson-Idahosa,

Pathfinders Justice Initiative

www.pathfindersji.org