ON THE ISSUE OF RAPE

These past few days have been depressing for thousands of people across the world. There’s just too much to take in. There is racism, corona virus is still in the air and of course, there is rape too. Rape is an issue that is not discussed well enough. I’m sure when the wave of the most recent case goes away, no one would talk about it again until another case happens and another victim is traumatized. And as people, when issues like this happen, we blame the victim and say things like, “what was she wearing?” “Why was she out so late?” “Maybe her dressing was too provocative”. And most times, parents or elders sit their daughters down and tell them how to sit, how to behave around men, how to dress and how to talk but how about instead we say, “boys do not rape!” or “don’t look at a woman like that!”.

Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a promising student of nursing of the University of Benin lost her life to rape recently and was killed in a church. She thought reading in church would make her safe and make her feel more secure; she thought it was going to be silent. She probably had plans for the next day, the day after the next, and the following year. Maybe she had someone waiting for her at home or she even planned on seeing someone after she left the church but all these plans flew with the wind the moment that fire extinguisher hit her head. I’ve been seeing certain trends like ‘not all men’. This trend shouldn’t even exist. The ‘bro code’ or whatever shouldn’t apply to you covering up for your friend that raped that girl across your street but you’re unbothered because you don’t rape and because you don’t molest girls. My dear, this also doesn’t make you less of a rapist. You are an ally to rape!

Sexual molestation occur in subtle things like catcalling, ‘tapping currents’ from your female friends, making the girl walking across the street feel uncomfortable because you and your gang have decided to sit by the road side and check out girls with big ‘assets’. We need to continue speaking up for the victims, our voices need to be heard, and the victims deserve to live their normal lives without the fear of thinking someone is on their trail. This issue is probably something that wouldn’t last a week because by then a lot of people would have forgotten about it and this why we need to continue talking about it. Rape should not be a seasonal issue because it’s something that happens almost every day. Girls and women are tired of not feeling comfortable in their skins because of the uncle or cousin next door. We need to seek justice before we lose another Vera.