No law to protect rape victims in Nigeria — Tonto Dikeh

Nollywood Actress, Tonto Dikeh, says victims of rape find it difficult to report such inhumane act because there is no law or policy to protect them.

The actress, in an interview with Punch, also stated that the increase in the cases of rape in the country requires urgent intervention.

Tonto Dikeh further suggested death penalty or castration for rapists in the country.

She said, “In Nigeria, cases of rape are fast assuming a threatening dimension that requires urgent intervention. Rape, like other forms of violence against women, is an infringement on women’s rights, privacy, self-preservation and dignity.

“There is little or no policy or law that protect the victims as they are most times blamed, stigmatised and humiliated by society if it is brought to the public domain. This hinders victims from embracing a mindset of reporting such an inhumane crime to the appropriate authorities.

“I believe that any person found guilty of rape should be sentenced to death either by hanging, firing squad, lethal injection or electrocution. I would also recommend castration. Rape cases and sexual molestations have become the order of the day, and the victims are not getting enough justice. Most of these perpetrators still walk freely.”

She continued, “Yes, we can eradicate rape and work towards zero tolerance. Firstly, we need to speak out against the root causes. Rape culture festers when we buy into ideas of masculinity that see violence and dominance as ‘strong’ and ‘manly’, and when women and girls are less valued.

“It is also underpinned by victim-blaming—an attitude that suggests a victim, rather than the perpetrator, bears responsibility for an assault. When discussing cases of sexual violence, a victim’s sobriety, clothes and sexuality are irrelevant. Instead, we need to counter the idea that men and boys must obtain power through violence and question the notion of sex as an entitlement. The law on rape should be amended and its definition expanded.”