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Sexual Violence Survivors in Nigeria Call for Tougher Laws Against Perpetrators
March 6, 2024
CategoryAfrica Central
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/Script((INTRO))
[[Nigeria is a signatory to several international treaties aiming to end sexual and gender-based violence against women. However, the problem persists. Now some want new laws to hold offenders accountable. Timothy Obiezu has this story from Jos Plateau State, Nigeria. Editor’s note: The rape survivors interviewed for this report have given consent to use their full names.]]
((NARRATOR))
Inside these walls in central Nigeria’s Plateau State are women seeking refuge from sexual violence.
Stella Kenneth was raped by her father in 2017 when she was ten years old.
((Stella Kenneth, Rape Survivor)) ((Female, English))
“My father started touching my body and one day he called me aside and said I’m trying to teach you what life is so that no guy will come and deceive you, I love you. I was scared that if I tell, my father will beat me and stop paying my school fees.”
((NARRATOR))
The abuse continued until last year when Kenneth told a family friend what was happening, and they reported it to the authorities, who arrested her father. She says the experience impacted her self-esteem.
((Stella Kenneth, Rape Survivor)) ((Female, English))
“When I first came here, I was kind of rugged. When I say rugged, I mean I never wanted to socialize and always kind of feeling like a bad girl.”
((NARRATOR))
The nonprofit Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment in Nigerian Society launched in 2010 and says the safehouse is helping many survivors of sexual violence like Kenneth cope with the trauma.
Violence against women and girls is on the rise more than 20 years after Nigeria signed the Maputo Protocol — an African charter on women’s rights. Recently, the French ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann, said economic challenges in the country are driving the increase in the number of cases of gender-based violence.
Eighteen-year-old Kachollom Musa says she was raped by her uncle eight years ago. She says she’s still afraid to report the case to her family.
((Kachollom Musa, Rape Survivor)) ((Female, in English))
“I lied. I told them that somebody wanted to kidnap me and after then I regretted it. I was afraid to report the case.”
((NARRATOR))
In December, Nigerian lawmakers called for a review of the laws to enable enforcement agents to take decisive measures. Janet Bitrus, the safe house manager at Jos Plateau, is all for a review of current laws.
((Janet Bitrus, Safehouse Manager)) ((Female, in English))
“For me, I think either life imprisonment or death sentence can serve as a deterrent to others out there. The gravity of this offense, it’s a lifetime memory that has been created in the heart and life of the victims.”
((NARRATOR))
Bitrus says harsher laws and stronger enforcement could act as a deterrent, and help women here feel safe.
((Timothy Obiezu, VOA News, Jos Plateau State, Nigeria.))
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