The state of #sexual violence appears to be on the increase in our thirsty
society on every passing day and this is quite alarming, many record of sexual
related violence regale in pages of newspapers and the electronic media almost daily
within us and all over the world. Sexual violence could be described as any act
of violence whish victim is the opposite sex and has connection to sex; it’s a
crime with ride range of offences, including a competed non-consensus sex act
rape, an attempted non-consensus sex
act, abusive sexual contact including; unwanted touching and non-contact sexual
abuse like: pretend likeness and verbal sexual harassment.
Last week in Nigeria Senate
approves life sentence for rape, 10 years for incest in Abuja. -The News-
(HENCEFORTH, anybody found
guilty of rape, child sex tourism or deliberate passage of HIV/AIDS to innocent
citizens, and other sexual offences, will face life imprisonment.
This was contained in the
Sexual Offences Bill sponsored by Senator Chris Anyanwu, which was passed into
law yesterday by the Senate.
The bill, among others,
prescribes life imprisonment for gang rape, 10 years for incest, another 10
years imprisonment for child pornography or more and a fine of N2 million as well
as 14 years jail term for sexual offences.
Presenting the report in the
chamber yesterday, Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and
Legal Matters, Umaru Dahiru, said the bill seeks to redefine and consolidate
existing laws on sexual offences.
Sponsor of the bill and
Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Navy, Senator Anyanwu who represents Imo
East, expressed happiness on the passage of the bill, which had been pending in
the Senate since 2013.
Senator Anyanwu said the
Sexual Offences law “seeks to make a comprehensive legislation on sexual
offences by criminalizing certain acts such as sexual tourism, child
pornography and cultural and religious sexual offences in our criminal
jurisprudence.
For witnesses, too
“The new law also provides
for effective witness protection programmed to protect victims and witnesses in
trial for sexual offences.
“It also provides for
compulsory documentation, supervision of sexual offenders and medical treatment
for victims, which is in line with the global trend and finally, and most
importantly, it provides for adequate and stringent punishments to
perpetrators.”
The new sexual offences law
also criminalizes people who deliberately lace drinks with drugs to sexually
abuse victims, prostitution of persons with mental disabilities, among others).
Research has shown that one (1) in
every four (4) women may have experience sexual violence by intimate partner
and up to one-third 1/3 of adolescent girl report their first sexual experience
as being forced. Issues are bound where adolescence are forced to have sex,
some go into it without understanding the implications.
Take
the case of 28 years old boy forcing a girl of 11 years or raping her to thirst
or a father having canal knowledge of his daughter in primary 5 for instance.
There are thousands of such cases
either reported or left unpublished and yet people are pretending all is well
with the society. Sometimes, the law of the land appears helpless as some of
this happens right under it nose and yet nothing could be done to remedy the
situation, allowing the culprit walk away freely. As these inopportune
incidences occur, most times its difficult to properly place the blame on who
seduces each other in the act while, some blame it on dressing code the young
ones, who exposes their vital endowment to the hungry public. Others say its
lack of self-discipline in the part of the men who easily fall prey. Which ever
way the blame travels, one thing stands clear that sexual violence have
profound impact on the physical & mental health of the victim. This impact
or mental health can be as serious as the physical impact and can be long
lasting which sometimes may result in suicide.
Sexual violence can also affect the
societal wellbeing of the victim which may result in stigmatization in some
cases the victim may be ostracized by their families and others. At times,
those victims are covered by the perpetrators through the underlined purpose
thus frequently express personal dominance over the person assaulted.
It
has a notice tag, sometimes people who coarse their spouse onto sexual act
believe that their action alleged payment because they are married. This is
contestable but what matters is tugged determination to reduce to it barest
minimum, the rate of sexual abuse in the society.
Accordingly, it behest parent, clergy,
non-governmental organizations, civil societies, community based organizations
to pick up the challenges and retain the society to the paths of restitution
for the good of all by cubing sexual related violence in our society.
Published
by ettefreeguy
Fb.com/Datakiss https://datakiss.blogspot.com