Event on Rape prevention: A Facebook conversation

Lifestyle Champions International hosted an event on Friday, the 7th of August 2020 where Dr Moyosore Makinde led a discussion on Rape Prevention in our society.

She shared her personal encounter with rapists, the stories of rape victims and how she had been involved in their medical care. She pointed out that rape is one of the factors in women violence that lead to emotional and mental disturbances in victims. Being a family physician and certified lifestyle medicine physician, she expressed her passion in advocacy for emotional and mental wellness which is a vital pillar in Lifestyle Medicine.

According to the U.S Centres for Disease prevention and Control (CDC), nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 38 men have experienced completed or attempted rape. In addition, 1 in 14 men was made to penetrate someone (completed or attempted) during his lifetime.

Further statistics report that 1 in 3 female rape victims experienced it for the first time between 11-17 years old and 1 in 8 reported that it occurred before age 10. Nearly 1 in 4 male rape victims experienced it for the first time between 11-17 years old and about 1 in 4 reported that it occurred before age 10.

She highlighted the statistics of rape in Nigeria according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This reveals the high incidence of rape in Nigeria;  63.04%  in  2015,  increasing  to  72.13%  in  2016  and then  69.33%  in  2017. 

She also alerted us to research findings that show that rape doesn’t just happen. Rather it an offence planned by the perpetuator who preys on vulnerable persons. She cited vulnerable persons as being:

• elderly persons;
•  unaccompanied women;
•  children and young adults;
•  children in foster care;
•  physically and mentally disabled men and women;
•  individuals in prison or held in detention;
•  individuals with drug or alcohol problems;
•  individuals with a past history of rape or sexual abuse.

Solutions to controlling the menace of rape in our society were proffered which include:

• Creating awareness through sex education starting from the home-front.
• Teaching relationship skills to young children which include respect of the opposite sex, emotional and social learning and avoidance of unsafe relationships especially among teenagers.
• Modelling positive behaviour to our children as well as intentional and deliberate grooming of the boys and girls at home and in the society.
• Empowering our children and young persons to say no to violation of their sexuality.
• Creating safe and protective environments for our children at home, schools, campuses and within religious organisations.
• To create bystander approaches where society members monitor and stand up for vulnerable persons.
• By allowing justice to take its course even when legal consequences have to be meted out on a family member.
• Non-tolerance of crime, rebellion and terrorism within the country.

After the discussion, she put up the contact numbers for Sexual assault centres in Nigeria. Please click on this link to watch the Facebook conversation. You can also leave your comments here after watching to generate further discussion and solutions to this social and public health problem.