Contributed by Jess Wakeman.
Police in Nigeria use rape as a means of intimidation and torture, Amnesty International reported today.
According to the Associated Press, the report outlines cases of "soldiers raping women in front of their husbands and children, detainees being sodomized with broken bottles, and toddlers assaulted after their parents had been arrested," as well as a 2004 incident where two teenagers were gang raped by three policemen.
And there are few, if any, consequences that befall the perpetrators.
...most rapes are never reported because victims fear the security forces or fear being rejected by their families or communities, Amnesty said. When rapes are reported, "widespread failures throughout the judicial system result in only an estimated 10 percent of cases ever being successfully prosecuted," the report said. "The perpetrators invariably escape punishment, and women and girls who have been raped are denied any form of redress for the serious crimes against them."
In addition, it's an unwelcome climate for reporting sexual assault because it is made near-impossible to prove. In northern Nigeria, where Islamic Sharia law is practiced, it's a crime to report a rape without sufficient evidence--including four male witnesses.
Of course, under-reported rape statistics and perpetrators evading prosecution is not just a Nigerian problem. According to the Rape Abuse Incest National Network, 61 percent of rapes in the U.S. are not reported and only one out of 16 rapists will ever spend time in jail.
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That is horrifying - thankyou for bringing it to attention, otherwise that would have gone right over my radar. I wish I knew what could be done about it - there's only so much Amnesty International can do, I guess, and it seems callous to acknowledge how hard it is to change a culture of fear, intimidation, and violence. I mean, that culture exists everywhere, but not always in such an extreme. I feel helpless knowing this happens and that the world, for the most part, is too fucked up to care.
Nigeria also has the highest instance of domestic violence in the world, so more harsh policy seems inevitable. its markedly higher in other muslim countries, and i am not sure if Nigeris is even majority Muslim in the first place.
Thank you for bringing it to attention games.