Ending Stigmatisation of Rape Victims – By Arnold A. Alalibo

Posted by admin Arnold Alalibo, Articles, Columnists, NNP Columnists Wednesday, October 31st, 2012

By Arnold A. Alalibo | NNP | Oct. 31, 2012 – The agony in her voice was unmistakable. From her narration,
the torment she experienced following the tragedy that befell her daughter was
better imagined.

For 40-year old Nyeduko Mbapari (not real names) a housewife
based in Port Harcourt, August 15, 2012, was a day she will ever live to
remember.

On that day, three hefty men lured her daughter into an
uncompleted building in the neighbourhood and gang raped her.

After discovering the horrible incident, Mbapari ensured
that the culprits were arrested and prosecuted, but her efforts were frustrated
by her husband. His reasons? The name and honour of the daughter and the family
must be safeguarded.

“My husband warned me that, I should not tell the thing to
anybody so that it will not bring shame to our house. When I said no, that I
will report the case to the police and the army people at the junction near our
house, he threatened to drive me away that he will not marry me again,” Mbapari
recounted her ordeal in tears.

Mrs Mbapari’s plight is indicative of the auguish of many
others in Port Harcourt and the nation, where rape cases are downplayed and
swept under the carpet owing to fears of the victim’s stigmatisation in the
society. Such fears are founded, as there are many stories about the stigma
which hapless victims of rape face in the society.

A housewife, who chose to be simply identified as Abarasin,
a mother of five, narrated to The Tide the tale of a rape incident in her
neighbourhood which spelt serious consequences on the victim after it was
disclosed to the public.

“People run away from her (the victim) like a leper because
her image has been tarnished by what happened to her. Since then, the girl has
been living in shame,” Abarasin said.

In addition, a furniture maker, Mr. Christopher Barile,
recounted how a 60-year old man raped his six-year old niece. He recalled how he
tried to convince his brother (the girl’s father) to report the matter to the
police to no avail. He said, virtually all the family members then kicked
against his suggestion vehemently, insisting that the disadvantages of
reporting the matter to the police far outweighed the advantages.

Some observers maintain that the situation has tacitly
encouraged rapists to go on perpetrating
the crime because they might get away scot-free.

“When these rapists move about as free as the air, what do
you expect? They will always look for unfortunate girls and women to rape,
since, they knew that nothing would happen,” said Azuatalam Ikedia, a student.

Despite the development, many people in Rivers State and
beyond regard rape as a heinous crime which should not go unpunished. Without
prejudice to this view point, little or nothing can be achieved in efforts to
curb the menace of rape in the State if people prefer to keep silence and
refrain from reporting rape cases because of extraneous factors, including the
victim’s stigma.

However, the people’s attitude regarding the concealment of
rape cases and the stigmatization of rape victims had been a source of concern
to a young youth corper, Mr. Boma Kuro.

According to him, rape victims were stigmatized because they
were regarded as women of easy virtue who are vulnerable to the deadly
HIV/AIDS.

“Rape victims are stigmatised because men of the society
usually regard them as people who have acquired sexually – transmitted diseases
like HIV/AIDS. They would not like to associate themselves with them. If you
marry them as a man, everyone will see you as marrying one who has been used by
other men”, Kuro declared.

Kuro noted that stigmatisation of rape victims could only
end when those who were raped declared it in the open. Correspondingly, he
said, rapists must be prosecuted and punished according to law.

“To end the stigmatisation, the first thing is for those who
have been raped to come out and say they have been raped. Secondly, they should
take action against the rapists and make sure that they are punished in
accordance with the law, “ Kuro advocated.

Available police records show that reported rape cases were
just a tip of the iceberg as there were several unreported cases. Such cases,
according to the source, had to do with minors, whose parents and relations
prefer to conceal the incidents for fear of stigmatization in the society.

This underscores the need for society’s resolve to tackle
the stigmatization of rape victims in order not to give a Leeway to
perpetrators of the crime. The frustration of people on the issue should give
sufficient pep to lawmakers in the country to enact stringent laws and prison
terms for proven cases.

A retired police officer, who chose to remain anonymous,
noted that the failure of the people to report rape cases to the police had
been making efforts to stamp out the crime some what futile. He said while he
was a serving officer in the force, so many rape incidents were heard, but only
few of them were reported. He attributed this development to stigmatization
which he stated prevented victims of rape from exposing perpetrators.

The retired police man urged value re-orientation as well as
immediate commencement of sensitization campaigns as quick solutions.

“From experience, most parents of the victims are reluctant
to report incidents of rape. Their reason has always been that their daughters
may find it difficult to find suitors who want to marry them in future.

“What I am saying in essence is that most men would not want
to associate with a lady who has been raped: it should not be like that because
whoever is raped did not do it out of her own volition.

“If these rapists know that women would come out to talk
about the act and expose those who raped them, then we have gone halfway,” he said.

Investigations by The Tide revealed that even in situations
where culprits are arrested and charged to court, parents pressurize the police
to withdraw the case for fear that the matter, may tarnish their image. This
often results in culprits getting away with their acts only to repeal the same
crime shortly.

However, some analysts described the situation as extremely
worrisome and contend that the dangers inherent in concealing heinous crime
such as rape can never be underestimated. They nonetheless, advocated mounting
public sensitization camp aligns on the issue through workshops and public
awareness activities, particularly at the grassroots.

They also insisted that society must decide on encouraging
victims to expose rapists and ensure that they were duly sanctioned to serve as
a deterrent to others.wp_posts