#OpeEd: Let’s talk about Rape by Joel Oseiga Aleburu; @JoelOseiga.

I woke up planning to write about my weekend trip to Abuja and about how the sole of my shoe removed at a park in the middle of town only to see a tweet by an on air personality blaming rape on indecent dressing on the part of the ladies. I am just mad right now! So why not let’s discuss RAPE! The truth about RAPE is you never know how delicate and sensitive the matter is until someone you love experiences it. The story of the girl that was gang raped by five boys in ABSU made news both nationally and internationally years ago. What was her offence? She insulted one of the boys. We live in a cruel world but the truth is the Nigerian society encourages rape!

You don’t go about blaming rape on a girl that dressed “indecently”! Come to think of it, decent dressing is relative! There is no world known standard for what dresses are decent! The issue shouldn’t be “them rape you! Watin you wear??” Most people who get raped end up wallowing in silence because of the stigmatization attached. Nobody wants to hear her side (Does she even have a side in the first place?) ! Let me share a story I read some time ago.

#BlogPost: She seduced me by Abimbola Abiola (@AbimbolaAbiolaa)

I came across these cases from Akwa Ibom and Lagos, about a 60, 29 and 20 years' old men who were arrested for rape and of how they told law enforcers that they were lured by their alleged victim's sexy behaviour.

So often when people hear this type of defense, some of them will rant about how girls are too sexy these days and therefore bringing sexual assaults upon themselves. This way of thinking is dead wrong. We've always said it, no girl or woman no matter how sexy she is or how she dresses brings sexual assaults upon herself.

This mindboggling cases should also remind us that this type of excuse is just that, an excuse and not a cause.

Their alleged victims were 8, 9 and 11 years old! Imagine.

If this doesn't shock you into letting go of the 'she seduced me' myth, then maybe hearing that this excuse was used by a convicted child abuser when the victim (his daughter) was only three years old, will have you seeing this lie for what it is.

A rationalization for a heinous crime.

So the question then becomes: will you support the rationalization of rapists or will you stand against these rationalizations and put the blame for rape where it belongs-on the rapist?

Share your thoughts via @StandtoEndRape on Twitter. Thanks for reading.

Indecent Dressing: What You Should Know by Habiba Olawale

We have been calling for articles; for people to share their thoughts with the rest of world. This is an article written by one of our team mates. Let's know what you think...

Decent dressing of course, is part of human life, because it elicits respect and protects the person’s dignity. While the antonym which is indecent dressing is a social malady that ridicules the person and is likely to shock or irritate people. It exposes parts of the body, usually sexual organs, which normally should be covered. Decent dressing by students/working class/celebrities etc attracts respect from lecturers, guards, classmates, boss, colleagues, fans etc and most importantly can go a long way to protect you from being the target of rape, sexual harassment and scandal. Even though I was well dressed when I was raped, Indecent dressing has adverse effect on a person; it brings hatred, disrespect from people.

Rape: Your Fault?

For the purpose of this blog, we will be going with the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda’s definition of rape. It defines rape as a physical invasion of a sexual nature committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive. So rape as far this blog is concerned is not only about forced sexual intercourse but about sexual abuse whether penetration is involved or not. It also takes into account the fact that rape may not always be violent.

Dear Raped yet Unashamed and Dignified (RUD), one truth you should realise is that getting raped wasn’t your fault! I hear a lot of people say things like “What if the lady dressed provocatively?” Do animals wear clothes? Aren’t all their ‘goodies’ hanging out for the whole world to see? I am yet to see any animal rape another animal in all my years of existence. A comparison between man and animal may not be the best but I’m just saying: “Can we take a cue from them?” Some others will ask why was the lady where she was at that time. Some others say the lady must have given a sort of come-on to the man. If all these reasons/excuses were valid, then little children or ladies who are well covered up and don’t go to ‘dangerous’ places will never get raped. But that isn’t the case, is it?

What Does Dressing Have to Do with Rape?

                                                      

I've found this topic to be a controversial one especially that this is still objective -- every man to his opinion in as much we might consider the answer to be clear.

PS: let me make clear the topic as to whether dressing has to do with rape or one is not about me supporting or dissaproving. This article is centred upon my opinion and advice to youths especially rape survivors.

May I quickly express my understanding of rape and as will be used in this context:
Rape is "any form of unwanted sexual behaviour that is imposed on someone".

Polls Reveals; #Nigerians Believe Rape is Caused by Indecent Dressing

So I was supposed to have posted this yesterday, but due to the large amount of articles I have (thanks to my beautiful readers who have been sending in articles), it's coming up today. *wink

A poll carried out revealed that a large amount of Nigerians believe the alarming rate of rape cases in the country is caused by girls indecent dressing.

Polls revealed:

“In order to commemorate this event and honour the girl child this special day, NOI Polls Limited released one of the polls we conducted in the first quarter of the year 2013, which was focused on the challenges faced by the girl child in Nigeria and indeed the world over as a result of the incidence of rape among women in the society. 34 percent of the participants believed that indecent dressing was the main cause of rape in the society; 18 percent believed unemployment was the cause; nine percent believed it was caused by lack of moral values and another nine percent believed it was caused by the inability to control sexual urges; seven percent said it was caused by faulty upbringing. Five percent of the participants believed rape was caused by illiteracy about women’s rights, ungodliness and bad company."

What do you guys think?

Culled from: Ok gist