By Abdulbaqi Sulaemon Olawale
Rape is an unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the person subjected to such penetration.
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving having a carnal knowledge, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person’s consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent. The term rape is, sometimes, used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.
According to the American Medical Association (1995), sexual violence, and rape in particular, is considered the most under reported violent crime. The rate of reporting, prosecution and convictions for rape varies considerably in different jurisdictions. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (1999) estimated that 91percent of U.S. rape victims are female and nine per cent are male.
It is most terrifying to note that the frequency of rape incidents today all over the world has doubled or even tripled according to statistics. All over from India to South Africa, Syria and even to Nigeria, the incidences of rape are now so common and it could even be seen in public places.
Rape against the female gender seems to be rampant today. There are reported cases of little children less than one year being raped as well as grandmothers of over 70, also being raped.Most petrifying is the fact that some of the rape victims have been killed by the rapists having been assaulted. Some victims have also killed themselves much later due to the pain and stigma associated with the act. It is indeed alarming how this level of wickedness has grown and expanded in our society.
One metric used by the World Health Organization(WHO) to determine the severity of global rates of coercive, forced sexual activity was the question “Have you ever been forced to have sexual intercourse against your will?” Asking this question produced higher positive response rates than being asked, whether they had ever been abused or raped.
The WHO report describes the consequences of sexual abuse are Gynecological disorders, Reproductive disorders, Sexual disorders, Infertility, Pelvic inflammatory disease, Pregnancy complications, Miscarriage, Sexual dysfunction, Acquiring sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, Mortality from injuries, Increased risk of suicide, Depression,Chronic pain, Psychosomatic disorders, Unsafe abortion, Unwanted pregnancy and so on.
From government quarters to private quarters, rape should be given a serious attention before we lose our female population to a group of persons who have lost all forms of dignity. The fight against rape should be total and there should be no sacred cows in the battle against it. All hands must be on deck to ensure that rape is finally expunged from our society. Everyone has a role to play in tackling this societal cancer. Lawmakers must create stiffer laws, the Judiciary must dispatch justice with speed to offenders and we all must also be our brothers’ keeper and also report any case of rape to the relevant authorities.