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RAPE AND THE WAY FORWARD
A non-consensual vicious act and inhumane behaviour of dominance, brutality and forceful intercourse with an individual is considered Rape. Dictionary.com defines Rape as 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 consent of the victim.
This heinous act has found its way into the society by circumventing religious and moral standards and as such, it has eaten deep into the fabric of the society. The impact of rape can be seen in the very way we live our lives and raise our children because they affect our overall sense of safety.
A perpetrator of the ignoble act of rape is known as a Rapist whom many perceive as a psychopath; which could be anybody ranging from father, uncle, teacher and even religious leader inclusively, living in the society.
Nevertheless, rape is a criminal act that warrants strict legal actions on anybody who is found wanting in perpetrating the inhumane act. Before we consider the different factors that empower the anti-humane behaviour, it is important to understand a brief historical perspective of this menace that is ravaging the country like a plague of Egypt.
Historically, there are essentially two versions of the Concept of Rape: one is through “War” and the other is seen as a criminal offense within the individual societies. Although they are essentially the same violations of the victims, they have been seen in different light throughout human history.
War Rape 
Is what we generally think of as an ancient history, the rape of women of a conquered city by the victorious army was considered a part of the “spoils of war”. The plunder and theft of many valuables, along with rape of women is considered a normal and expected result of victory and penalty of defeat. The rape of women of a defeated city or army was not just about carnal lust of the victorious army or individual soldiers, it was another way to completely humiliate and subjugate the defeated country and society. We have so many instances in the olden days African war conquest, biblical stories of war, mythology and legend stories.
Criminal Offense of Rape 
On the other hand is historically considered a criminal offense and the prohibitions and penalties as far back as the code of Hammurabi long considered to be the firstwritten law. However, when reading these ancient texts, it appears the offense was not always perceived as a crime against the female victim as much it was seen as an offense against the husband or father of the victim.
For instance, under the ancient Hebrew law as documented in the Holy Bible, in the book of Deuteronomy, the crime of rape or even consensual intercourse with a virgin without permission of a father had specific punishment.
In recent times, the case of rape has been the tale on the media and it is important to note different obvious reasons that could spur this obnoxious act especially in Nigeria.
Some of these reasons include lack of proper home training of the male child, negative influence of social media, negative societal orientation, lack of sexual education, parental flaw, religious irregularities, spiritual factor among others. This is obviously becoming a pandemic on its own lying side by side with the novel corona virus, most especially in Nigeria. No where is safe in the country because of the fear of rape. Rape takes place in the church, school and even at home.
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| Unlawful act |
A recent case of a University of Benin student _Uwa Omonozua_ who was raped in the church when she allegedly went to study, had created an uproar in the country along side many other cases. No doubt the menace is not a recent phenomenon as we can see from the historical background above.
But today, the number of cases has taken a flit in folds compared to yesteryears figure. Divergent opinions have trooped the media on the causes of rape; some commentators believed it is indecent dressing while some hold the opinion that no factor could justify rape. I believed this is based on the environment we live in and the different culture of our society. Each society has different causes of rape. However, I would like to recommend different ways to tackle the danger of rape that has posed so much threat to the livelihood of the female gender in the country. 
To tackle this threatening menace, I would recommend that families should take due responsibility in the training of their children. Parents are the first teacher of a child. It is disheartening that most parents neglect their role in educating their children but rather leave all the training to the teacher, peer group and social media which are the immediate environment of the child aside the home.
The family is an agent of socialization. The parents should teach and enlighten their children on rape, its atrocities and possible implications.
Sex education should be the priority of the family at this stage.
Schools being the second agent of socialization should incorporate sex education into the curriculum of the educational system. This will go a long way in containing rape, as children _both male and female_ will have a better understanding of sex education.
Peer pressure should be given due concern. A popular proverbs says, “show me your friend and I will tell you who you are”. Peer Pressure has influenced rapist greatly in the society because children mingle with friends and imitate their actions speedily. Parents should play their role in checkmating the kinds of friends their children move with.
The Social Media is another bane that has influenced rape in today’s world. A lot of unsavoury posts are being displayed on the social media today which is not healthy for some users. Different incidences have occurred through social media, viewing of erotic content, uploading of nude pictures and so on has spurred many rapist to rape girls in today’s age of social media. Laws should be enacted to regulate social media users and anyone found guilty of the law should be brought to book.
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| Indecent dressing 👆 |
Also, social media can be used as an avenue for protest to curb the menace of rape in the society.
In the same vein, religious organizations should play adequate part in tackling this issue. Clerics should preach against rape, sexual sins and admonish worshippers on the implications attached to this.
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| The Government |
The government should join force in tackling this crime by strengthening the judicial system so that the implementation of the already made laws on rape would be well established. Rapist should be made to face the wrath of the law and serve as deterrent to other prospective rapist. I strongly recommend that the law of rape should be greatly empowered in the constitution and if there is possibility of reviewing the constitution, the government should carry out adequate research on the cases of rape in different parts of the country in order to help create proper measures to curtail it or probably proffer a lasting solution to it.
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| Written by Idowu Samuel of Ascend Royal |
References
1. https://m.guardian.ng/opinion/rape-cases-and-the-way-forward/
2. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/rape?s=t
3. https://www.sample.jbup.com._4869_CHO1_Chancellor
