Rape, An epidemic in the society
Ojo Taiwo
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person’s consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.
According to child sexual exploitation report, Nigeria enjoys a favorable ranking for police-reported cases of rape (whether in child or adult) in the world, experts still believes that most cases of child rape are never reported.
Today the rape epidemic in our society reflects the extent to which women’s human rights are threatened. Rape is a very traumatic experience. It is so traumatic it can terrify marriage years down the line.
Women have been known to die from rape. It’s because it’s beyond physical. It’s a violation of the sacred. Rape is so vicious it can shred the fabric of a soul, alter the balance of life energy. It kills something inside.
Rape is not just one more incident in society. At the retail level, it is the scarring of someone’s life. Our society ought to take rape much more seriously than we do. There’s a cultural shrugging of shoulders about rape.
It has become a locker room talk in boys’ circle as if it’s some weekend discussion about Chelsea and Arsenal. Some young men, in fact, revel in the fact of rape. This is really sad. Some boys even boast about raping a girl. Our tolerance of such banter and disposition is the cultural equivalence of conditioning boys for rape. There are boys boasting about rape in secondary school, boasting they assaulted girls during school socials. And for some boys, it’s a sorority ritual. Which makes you begin to ponder on the fundamentals of our society.
It has eaten deep that now we have live streaming of rape actions. If only the law allows castration. Then there are those psychos’ who rape kids – eight-, nine-year-olds. Some even babies. Surely such people are deranged. A nine-year-old can’t know how to interpret rape. She’ll malfunction.
The sad thing is that the rape is usually by a close relative. Trust is thus destroyed at such an early age. Fear of the familial is bred. Of course, it’s easy for someone who hasn’t experienced rape to say, get over it. But when your soul is violated and trust is brutally ravaged it can’t be easy to move on. Those who imagine rape is just physical have no understanding of the makeup of a woman, or even of a human. The sad thing is that society is so perverse the rape victim is blamed. Under no circumstance can rape be justified.
There are many people we deem human but who in fact belong to the zoo. There are animals in shirt and ties but choose to function by animal code. But I want you to take the step of seeing a therapist a psychologist or psychiatrist. Given the society we live in, they stigmatize seeing a therapist, psychiatrist or psychologist. But that’s strange.
There are doctors of the physical body and there are doctors of the soul. The psychologist addresses the soul. Arrange to see a psychologist so you work through the trauma with professional help. Rape is horrible. Don’t assume the trauma will just go away. These things have a way of lurking and showing up somewhere down the line. Many marriages have been destroyed by such unresolved issues. And since what rape fundamentally does is destroy proximate trust you’ve got to seek help so it doesn’t destroy your marriage.
Rape also destroys trust in the preventive armor of society. Makes us become suspicious of Samaritan gestures. This can make us prone to turning away good men. They stand accused of the bestial behavior of an imp. You don’t want to punish such a man because of this incident. He knows nothing about it and God sent him to you. You won’t know why you’re malfunctioning, you won’t be aware.
That is why you need to go see a therapist now, to work through the horrible experience. There’s need for professional counsel. Even the criminal prosecution and conviction of this gentleman will not give you total resolution. In some way it’s external. And the burden of proof in rape cases can be so high. The standard often turns things into he said, she said. Some will even query your judgment for being in his room at that hour. Though how that justifies rape is still a wonder.
Some men have obviously imbibed that curious word-opposite lexicon. They say when a woman says no, it means yes. That lexicon is, of course, limited to an assault on women. No means yes never applies to other aspects of their lives. They never apply “no means yes” in their executive function, or dealing with their family. Only when they choose to rape women.
Even some of the parents of rape victims don’t understand. They end up punishing their daughter. But YOU can’t give up on your life. And you can’t allow this animal to ruin the rest of your life and your future marriage. It’s tough I know, but find the courage to see a therapist. Ask your General Practitioner for a referral.
As for the young man, life has its own calculator. And it runs a balance sheet. He won’t get away with it. And life will let him know when it evens the score. Life will jolt his memory.
You’ll need the support of your family, don’t push them away. You need them at this time, even your friends too. You have nothing to be ashamed of. The rapist is the one who should be ashamed.
Leadership.ng
Source: jalknjillive.com
