What You Must Know About Gang Rape

“FIVE-MAN Gang Rapes 15-year-old Girl For Two Weeks”.

“Gang Of Three Rapes Youth Corps Member”. “Four-man gang rapes eight-year-old girl”.

SUCH reports are becoming disturbingly frequent.

According to the first report, the 15-year-old girl was lured to a house by her female friend where the five men locked her up and sexually assaulted her until men of the Nigeria Police rescued her two weeks later. Three of the men and the victim’s so-called friend have been charged to the State High Court. The Youth Corps member is said to have been posted to a school in a state in the North for the mandatory national service. Unfortunately, school was not in session the day she reported. The three men she met at the premises directed her to an empty classroom where they later assaulted her sexually.

Now, is gang rape becoming a menace like bomb blasts, kidnapping and armed robbery? We hope not because the consequences will go far, affecting the fabric of the society if decisively tackled now. A woman who is sexually attacked even by one man is a wrecked human being if she is not well cared for. So while we wait for the authorities to prosecute and adequate punish the culprits, we call on women to learn to protect themselves. Gang rape is not new. It is only on  the.

What Is Gang Rape?

It is described as a group sexual act where, although the body of a woman is involved, she is not seen as a real person. According to a study in the USA some years back, majority of men who assault women in a group are people considered normal, not mentally unstable men. The study, done over a 10-year period, found that half of the cases examined involved athletes who were team mates, 35% was carried out by club members while the remaining 15% was done by other people.

The conclusion therefore was that an average man who feels challenged in a group of hostile and aggressive men would take part in it because he cannot resist the pressure to prove his manhood and show that he is a part of the group. It was also found that the decision to attack a woman while in a group could take off in as simple a way as when men come together to drink and relax. When they have had too many drinks and no longer know the difference between one man and the other, their understanding of sharing may go as far as sharing sex.

And being in a group gives them the cover they need to commit a terrible crime because they feel protected by each other and they think that group gives them anonymity. Those likely to commit this crime are said to be boys in late adolescence and those in early manhood because they are those likely to feel insecure and want to be recognized as strong by their friends.

Experts believe that most times when a woman is attacked, she may have been known to the attackers. The attack is possible because she may already have had sex with one of them or if she is much younger. The assault is also easier if she is drunk and out of control.

The men who take part are those who have no respect for women and are hostile towards them, it was also found.

Drug and alcohol abuse are also involved because it was found that while the victim may have been drugged or is drunk, the gang is also likely to be acting under the influence of mind- altering (psychedelic) substances.

But being under the influence of drugs or alcohol does not mean that perpetrators never have the intention to commit the crime whether in a group or acting singly. They think of it and the group offers the opportunity of not being caught easily.

American experts also lament a situation where the rape victim is blamed for “conducting herself in a compromising manner” and her attackers are therefore never punished. But the shocking thing about gang rape is the belief that this terrible crime may be difficult to fight because while majority of men would never join in the group rape of a woman, they would allow it to go on when they know that it is happening.

Researchers found that in a gang rape, there are always find three types of perpetrators. There are the leaders who plot or force others to join in, there also the followers and the ones who would not participate but would not stop others from doing it.

___________

By Alita Joseph

Get more trends like this

Subscribe to our mailing list and get latest Nigeria trends in your inbox.

Get more trends like this
in your inbox

Subscribe to our mailing list and get latest Nigeria trends in your inbox.