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Rape Culture in Nigeria

How corrupt governance, societal norms and beleifs on gender roles, have heavily impacted the prevlance of sexual violence in Nigeria


Author: Vanessa Lolomari



Before the age of 18, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 10 boys experience sexual violence in Nigeria.


“There is no day in the country, without a reported case of sexual violence, more specifically rape in the media.” Nigeria’s Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development has put forth the statistic that about two million Nigerians (mainly women and girls) are raped every year.


This alarming figure reveals the systematic failure on the part of the Nigerian government for handling this crime. Nigerian police have taken an active effort to silence victims who have spoken up about their sexual assaults. For example, in 2019, a Nigerian female photographer Busola Dakolo spoke out against a well-known pastor in Nigeria, Biodun Fatoyinbo “raping her twice before she turned 18.” Instead of getting the justice Dokolo sought when turning to the police, Dakolo ended up having to pay Fatoyinbo $2,500 for “defamation.” This unjustness reveals the corruptness of Nigeria’s legal system, with “police often being accused of committing rape themselves, and blaming victims on their clothing or lifestyle, or dismissing cases altogether.”


Sexual violence in Nigeria starts within a child’s home from an extremely young age; approximately 1 in 10 children’s first experience is between ages 6 and 11, with parents, adult relatives, adults within the neighborhood, and teachers being the “most frequent perpetrators of the first incident of physical violence.” Children in Nigeria continue to be afraid to speak to adults and authority figures about their violence experienced as a child, as “out of those who have experienced sexual or physical violence, no more than 6% sought help and less than 5% received help.” Nigerian boys and girls have pointed out that barriers such as “not thinking the violence was problematic” have prevented them from going to look for help. This lack of conversation leaves grave and serious impacts on both Nigerian boy’s and girl’s lives due to the fact sexual violence is associated with “higher risk for symptoms or diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections, mental distress, and thoughts of suicide among females, and mental distress among males.”


There is an extreme problem with the thought of “sexual violence not being problematic” from young boys and girls. This thought attests to the fact that “Nigeria has a very strong rape culture,” and the state doesn't play any supportive role in addressing it, but rather seeks to “maintain power structures” (as viewed in Dakolo’s sexual assault case). When discussing sexual violence, it is important to discuss that belief on gender roles heavily influence the way members of society think and act. In the case of Nigeria, sexual abuse within marriages is typically “accepted”, and there is an underlying notion that “women should tolerate violence to keep a family together and should not complain to anyone when beaten or abused by her partner.” This ingrained societal norm in Nigeria has created a society where sexual violence amongst children and adults remains unspoken of, and when spoken about, is immediately shut down due to the messaging that there, in fact, cannot be “victims” of sexual assault, due to how normalized sexual violence has become.


What Can be Done About the Current Rape Culture Present in Nigeria?


A group chaired by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Special development in Nigeria has developed a list of actions that the Nigerian government can take in response to the prevalent issue of sexual violence.

  1. There must be laws and policies which prevent and respond to violence

  2. Efforts must be taken to “create a protective environment for children,” “change perceptions of violence,” “empower children and young people,” and “improve the availability and quality of services and enhancing the capacity of professionals to work with children,”

  3. There must be increased efforts to “hold perpetrators accountable” and to increase “investment in child protection.”


Though these suggestions may be potential solutions to mitigate the current situation, I, the author offer my own suggestions as to what must be done in Nigeria:

There needs to be a transformation in the current societal norms in the country. Though this change is long-term, a shift in messaging and thinking will lead to a long-term effective outcome for the prevention of sexual abuse amongst children in Nigeria. Until then, Spreading awareness on this issue remains extremely important for supporting child victims of sexual assault in Nigeria. Victims continue to be silenced and action has not yet to be taken by the Nigerian government and police, which remains corrupt. Spread awareness by using the #MeToo hashtag, or sharing infographic posts from trusted sources.



Instagram accounts to follow/look at:




Article Sources:

file:///Users/vanessa/Downloads/summary_report_nigeria_violence_against_children_survey.pdf





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