So, unless you are living under a rock or in a bubble, you must have been hearing what has been going on in our country. To some people, they are just hearing about the severity of the rape situation in our country. I call BS on that I’m sorry not sorry to say. It’s just with Madam ‘da Rona’ on the horizon, these rapes can not be swept under the carpet like they where pre-COVID 19.
Why has this heinous crime been allowed to get this bad? Did we have to lose Ochanya, Uwa, Cynthia, etc before we started having these conversations? No, we did not. But we live in a country that victimizes victims of rape and lets the rapists get off with a slap and tickle. We also have a deep-rooted culture of shaming victims and therefore using the shame to silence them as if it was their fault. You hear stupid excuses made excusing these monsters like “she was ‘asking’ for it”, “when a woman says NO, she’s actually saying yes” *sigh*. We also have a society that easily lets men get off with bad behavior. All these contribute to rape culture.
How do we stop rape culture? One of the ways is dismantling the insidious ‘bro code’. A so-called code that is built on the pain of women is just covering up for guys wicked deeds. Let me put it this way; for the fact, you did not rape a girl with your ‘bro’ but you KNOW your bro is a serial rapist, you’re an accessory to it. Meaning that you are also a rapist. Another way to stop this is to teach guys respect for a woman’s voice and bodies. We are not articles or just vaginas. We are human beings with our own thoughts and dreams but with the vicious act of rape, we are reduced to just slabs of nothing.
We need men to realize that NO means NO. Even if you are in the middle of the act and she tells you NO, kindly come down and don’t say you have to ‘finish’. If you finish, that’s rape because it’s not consensual sex anymore. Let me interpret ways ladies say no for those that claim to be confused:
- I’m uncomfortable.
- I don’t feel like it.
- I don’t want to do this.
- I’m not in the mood.
- Get off me!
- STOP!
- NO! NO!!! NO!!!
Lastly, we need to end the culture of silence and shaming. We need to create a safe place where victims can say their stories without being critized or shamed into silence. We also need to expose these monsters even if it means sharing their pictures on social media so that people know the monsters they are. Is sharing their pictures online overkill? Some of you may ask. I’ll reply that rape is the most horrific invasive thing that can ever happen to a woman, so what’s sharing a rapist’s pictures online compared to that?
I’ll end with this; Rape has never been a crime of passion. It has always and will always remain a crime of POWER. Ponder that.
Contact Warif.com or check them out on their social media pages, if you know of anybody that has been raped. The sooner you report the better. They are very supportive.
