Rape is a menace which should not be condoned in any society due to its dangerous effects. It is excruciating to humanity and can lead to several negative effects on the victim.

According to Merriam-webster dictionary, Rape is said to be “An Unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception”.

From this, we could indubitably say rape isn’t something that requires consent of both parties before been carried out. The perpetrator of this nefarious acts are usually blinded by the fact that the victim is a weaker entity, could this be true?

“The 2014 National Survey on Violence Against Children in Nigeria found that one in four women have experienced sexual violence in childhood, with over 70% of them reporting more than one incident. Of the 24.8% of women aged 18 to 24 who have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18, a dismal 5% sought help, and just 3.5% received any assistance.”

Recently, we’ve had cases of different victims of rape, ranging from “UWA” who was raped in a church in Edo state, Nigeria, to Jenifer, now to TAIYE; A primary 4 student. “On May 28, Vera Uwaila Omosuwa, a 22- year old microbiology student at the University of Benin, Edo State was raped and brutally assaulted after she went to study in a church”, a news from here.org reported.

Jenifer who was also raped as reported by (lifestyle.cable), “An 18-year-old girl, simply identified as Jennifer, has allegedly been gang raped by five boys reported to be her friends in Kaduna state. It was gathered that the incident occurred some weeks back in Narayi, a small community in Kaduna south local government area. The boys were said to have carried out the action on the teenager after giving her a liquid content — said to be a mixture of alcohol and drugs — to drink.”

Now, we have Taiye, A 9 year old girl who was raped by a fully grown man at Epe, Lagos state, Nigeria on Wednesday, 10th June, 2020. As at when this report was made, Taiye is a primary 4 student of St. Micheal primary school, popo oba, epe, Lagos.

Could this daily growing menace be attributed to the fact that we are on lockdown or the fact that people are idle due to the Covid-19 pandemic, or even lack of self control by the perpetrators? This is a question we need to ask ourselves, and to get the answers, we must stand up and fight against rape with all our strength.

“She stays in her house, She gets raped.
She’s in a bus, She gets raped.
She’s in the club, She gets raped.
She’s a street girl, She gets raped.”

HER LOCATION DOESN’T MATTER , IT’S THE RAPIST!!

“She’s 18, she gets raped.
She’s 8, she gets raped.
She’s 28, she gets raped.
She’s 80, she gets raped.”

HER AGE DOESN’T MATTER, IT’S THE RAPIST!

“She’s nice, she gets raped.
She’s rude, she gets raped.
She’s funny, she gets raped.
She’s humble, she gets raped.”

HER ATTITUDE DOESN’T MATTER, IT’S THE RAPIST!

#SayNoToRape
#JusticeMustPrevail