Problematic Of Rape And Its Consequences Among Nigerian Minors. Part (I)
By
Shuaibu Lawan
[email protected]
Crime is that particular subset of deviance or failure to conform to the rules in question are legal codes. This definition could be operationalised in a thoroughly pragmatic way by treating as crime only that which the appropriate legal authorities have determined is criminal,but many Sociologists would regard that as unduly restrictive and wish to include acts which in some sense or other should have been regarded as crime. This complexity that the actor, the agent of social control, and the observer may differ in their judgement either of general principles (should pollution be treated as a crime).
Crime an illegal act for which someone can be punished by law especially a gross violation against morality, criminal activity effort to fight something reprehesible, foolish or disgraceful, it’s a crime to waste good food.
The word rape is derives from the Latin word “rapere” which means to seize or to take by force. The legal history of rape yields a complex and shifting patchwork of meanings rather than a linear progression of definitions. Under Roman law, rape was classified as a crime of assault. By later antiquity, rape was regarded instead as a crime against male property. Through this gradual transformation of meaning, rape came to be understood as an attack against the victim’s husband or father and as a crime that devalued women through their presumed loss of virginity.
Rape becomes one of the recent social problems in human society (especially child rape). Rape is a social problem, that affects lots of people in the world, the impact and the outcome of this horrible illicit act have a devastating impact on the rape victims, their families and the entire society at large. Rape is considered to be a serious crime and punishable.
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There has been a growing concern in the media, non-governmental organizations and the public about the dramatic increase of incidents of rape against women and particularly minors in Nigeria.
Rape is one of the key barriers to sexual health that many women face throughout the world. It is a well recognized risk factor for a variety of physical, reproductive, medical and psycho-social health problems that may result in immediate or long-term
Although generally recognized as a universal problem, at present there is very scanty literature on rape (particularly rape against minors) from the underdeveloped countries.
Child abuse including child labour, rape, neglect and physical violence against children is increasingly being recognised as a global public health problem (WHO, 2002). To law enforcement agencies and the public, sexual assaults, and especially the assaults of young children, are a major concern (WHO, 2002). The surge in the rape of children and babies is shocking and cases such as these commonly receive attention in the media. Child rape is not a fringe activity that is conducted by a small number of psychologically disturbed individuals or paedophiles. Its enormous scale in South Africa suggests that there are important aspects of this society that may be legitimizing these acts, and if not legitimizing them, they at least provide space for these crimes to occur.
According to Mutimbe (1999), a child is raped every five minutes in South Africa and one in every four children suffers some form of abuse. According to a report by the SAPS Crime statistics in 2008, 42% of reported rapes and attempted rapes, children are the victims (SAPS, 2008b). The World Report on Violence and Health identifies child rape as an important public health problem, as it is associated with increased risk of sexual and reproductive health problems, mental health problems increased health risk behaviours as well as behavioural problems (Jewkes et al., 2005). The preamble to the Sexual Offences Amendment Bill recognises that the South African common law and statutory law failed to deal effectively and in a non-discriminatory manner with activities associated with sexual offences, thereby failing to provide adequate protection against sexual exploitation to complainants in such activities.
