Psychological Factors Associated with Rape: The Nigerian Case

Rape is an unlawful intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another individual, with or without force, by a sex organ, other parts of the body or foreign object without the consent of the victim.

Rape or sexual assault is a heinous and serious crime against humanity. The term rape and sexual assault are used simply to differentiate between two types of offence, and they are as follows;

Rape is when a person intentionally penetrates another person’s vagina, anus or mouth or with a penis, without the other person’s consent or approval. Assault by penetration is when a person penetrates another person’s vagina or anus with part of the body other than a penis, or by using an object without the person’s consent.

The overall definition of sexual or indecent assaults is an act of physical, psychological and emotional violation in the form of a sexual act, inflicted on someone without their consent. It can involve forcing or manipulating someone to witness or participate in any type of sexual act. Not all cases of sexual assault involve violence, cause physical injury or live visible marks. Sexual assaults can cause severe distress, emotional harm, trauma, and injuries which can’t be seen all of which can take a long time to recover from. This is why we use the term “assault” and treat reports just as seriously as those of violent physical attacks. What separates sex, or gesture of affection, from sexual assaults is a matter of consent. That is both people agreeing to what’s happening by choice and having the freedom and ability to make their respective choice.

It is widely thought that in most cases of rape, the offenders are usually strangers. The truth of the fact is the majority of people who commit rape know their victims and, in some cases, are relations, friends, co-workers or close acquaintances. Therefore families, parents, guardians and care-givers should be mindful of those they welcome in their various homes. Rape within marriages and relationships can also occur. Though there is no law that is against spousal rape irrespective of the fact that it occurs more often in various Nigerian families. People should understand that sex is all about consent and not by cohesion or force. If your husband or wife has forced you into having sex with either partner, it is also rape. This should be treated as seriously as any other rape or sexual assault, but unfortunately it is usually neglected in the Nigerian case because there is no law prohibiting such an act.

Sometimes people are afraid to report to the police about their rape because they were voluntarily taking drugs or alcohol or intoxicating beverages prior to the incidence of rape. Studies have shown that under the influence strong stimulants, they may have little or no recollection of what has happened. They may have a criminal record, and may worry that the law enforcement agency such as the police won’t treat them fairly.

They might also be worried that no one will believe their ordeal. In Nigeria most people, especially ladies don’t usually report cases of rape to the Nigerian Police. They usually complain that when they report such cases, police personnel usually make sport of them, believing that they are cheap prostitutes that wanted to take advantage of their rapists to acquire money and properties but ended up being raped. Further studies have shown that child molestation may lead to an infantile rape. Child molesters, who are usually males are often pictured as despicable perverts lurking in dark alleys to unleash mayhem on innocent children. In fact, most of them are married and two thirds of them are fathers. Many are rigid, passive, puritanical, or sectarian/religious. In one half to two thirds of all cases of pedophilia, the offender is a friend, acquaintance, or relative of the child. Molesters are also often thought of as child rapists, but most molestations rarely exceed fondling.

The impact of child molestation varies widely from culture to culture, and it is grossly affected by how long the abuse may last and whether genital sexual acts are involved. Many authorities believe that a single incident of fondling is unlikely to cause severe emotional harm to a child. For most children the event is frightening, but not a lasting trauma. This is the reason why we are advised not to overreact to such incidents or become hysterical. Doing so will further frightens the child. This is not a prelude that parents should ignore hints or vital signs from a child that he or she is being molested. Unfortunately, most sexual abuses in Nigeria tends to involve on-going incidents within the house or the victim’s environment.

Below are some hints of trouble that parents should look out for as vital signs of child molestation:

The child fears being seen nude (for instance, during bathing), when such fears were absent before.
The child develops physical complaint such as headaches, stomach aches, and other stress symptoms.
The child displays unnecessary anxiety, fidgeting, shame or some degree of discomfort when any references to sexual behaviour are made.
The child becomes markedly emotional and irritable most of the time.
The child engages in hazardous risk taking, such as jumping from high places or riding a bicycle dangerously in traffic (human or vehicle traffic).
The child reveals self-destructive or suicidal thoughts, self-blame or self-pity.
The child shows a loss of self-esteem or self-worth.
When a child shows some signs of pain around his or her genital or anus.
The repeated molestation, more especially those that involve force or threats, and incidents that exceed fondling can leave lasting emotional scars on the victims. As adults, many victims of incest or molestation may develop sexual phobias. For them, love making may evoke vivid and terrifying memories of infantile victimization. Serious harm is especially likely to occur if the molester is someone the child deeply trusts. We should understand that molestations by parents, close relatives, teachers, youth or choir leader, and similar persons can be quite damaging. In such cases, clinical assessment and counselling are often needed.
Typically, some relatively infantile sexual expression (like exhibitionism or pedophilia) is selected because it is less threatening than normal sexuality, but rapists are a notable exception of this pattern, however, rapists often inflict more violence on their victims than it is necessary in order to achieve their immoral goals. Statistics have shown that many women feel confident that their chances of being raped are low. But the facts tell a different story in the actual scene of rape. It is very evident that any woman could be raped irrespective of her age or social status.

The Current Facts about rape in Nigeria as Documented by the researchers

At least 4 women in 30 in Nigeria will be raped in her lifetime.

Approximately 5 higher Institution female student in 25 are victims of rape.

In 67 to 82% of all cases, the rapist is a friend or acquaintance of the victim.

Rape by an acquaintance or close relation is as devastating as rape by a stranger.

Five to 30% of rape victims contract sexually transmitted diseases/ Hiv/Aids.

It is therefore pertinent to say that rape is not a sexual disorder, but rather it is a crime against humanity. Indeed, most authorities no longer think of rape as primary sexual act. Rather, it is an act of brutality or aggression based on the need to debase others. Many rapists are highly neurotic and exhibits a high degree of inferiority complex who impulsively take what they want without concern for the feelings of the victim or guilt about their deed. Some others habour deep-seated resentment or out-right hatred of women (misogynist). Or outright hated of women by men (misandry).

Quite often, the rapist’s goal is not strictly sexual intercourse, but rather it is to attack, subordinate, humiliate, and degrade the victim. Typically, after-effects for the victims of rape include; rage, guilt, depression, loss of self-esteem, shame, sexual adjustment problems, and in many cases a lasting mistrust of male-female relationships. The consequences of rape is enormous that most women continue to report fear, anxiety and sexual dysfunction a year and a half or more after being raped. Even years later, rape survivors are more likely to suffer from depression, alcohol or drug abuse, and other emotional/traumatic situations.

Any man who doubts the seriousness of rape should imagine himself mistakenly placed in jail, where he is violently raped (sodomized) by other inmates will understand the gravity of rape. There is no pleasure in rape for victims of either sex. It is truly a despicable crime.

In a nutshell, rape is non-consensual sexual intercourse. It is a situation when a man has sex with a woman without her consent, in Nigeria apart from FCT only women are capable of being raped. Sexual assaults is similar to rape, but it is not rape. Sexual assault is any form of sexual contact or behaviour that occurs without the explicit of the recipient. They are five specific laws that deal with rape.

The Criminal Code: – this is applicable in all the Southern states of Nigeria.
The Penal Code: – This is applicable in all the Northern states of Nigeria.
The Criminal Laws of Lagos:- this is applicable only in Lagos States
The Violence against Persons Prohibition Act- this is applicable in only the FCT Abuja.
The Child Right Act: – this is only applicable in the states which have domesticated it.

1. Criminal Code (CC): Under the CC, rape is when any person has sexual intercourse with a woman or girl, without her consent or incorrectly obtained consent. Consent can be incorrectly obtained where it is obtained;

By force/threat/intimidation
By means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act.
By person impersonating a married woman’s husband in order to have sex.

Under the CC. Sexual intercourse with under aged girls or people with unsound mind is the offence of defilement and so technically a person could be charged for rape and defilement.

2. Penal Code (PC): Under the PC, rape is when a man has sexual intercourse with a woman against her will, without her consent, or with incorrectly obtained consent where it is obtained;

By putting her in fear of death or hurt.
By a person impersonating a married woman’s husband in order to have sex.

Furthermore under the penal code, sex with a girl under 14 years of age or who is of unsound mind is rape, irrespective of whether there is consent. Also the penal code explicitly states that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife is not rape.

3. Criminal Laws of Lagos (CLL): Under the criminal laws of Lagos, rape is when a man has sexual intercourse with a woman or girl without her consent, or with incorrectly obtained consent. Consent can be incorrectly obtained where it is obtained:

By force, impersonation threat or intimidation of any kind
By means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act.

As with the Penal code, the criminal laws of Lagos explicitly states that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife cannot be unlawful, and therefore a man cannot rape his wife.

It is important to note here that in all the three laws, rape can only occur when the vagina of the woman is penetrated. However, this does not mean that anal unlawful sexual intercourse is allowed. This is a crime, and it is covered under different description in each legislation. The penalty for rape across all the laws is life imprisonment (however, this is not a mandatory sentence in all of them.

4. Violence against Person Prohibition Act (VAPPA). The VAPPA defines rape as when a person intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with any other part of his/her body or anything else without consent, or with incorrectly obtained consent. Consent can be incorrectly obtained where it is obtained:

By force/threat/intimidation by means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act.

By the use of substance capable of taking away the will of that person.

By a person impersonating a married woman’s husband in order to have sex.

As you can see, the VAPPA seem like a very progressive  
Piece of legislation. Unfortunately, the law is only  
Applicable in the FCT, Abuja. It does not apply in other 
States of the federation. 

5. Child Right Act (CRA). The CRA provides that sex with a child is rape and anyone who has sexual intercourse with a child is liable to imprisonment for life upon conviction.

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, then you should not suffer in silence. Rape is a crime in Nigeria, and if you are a victim you should report the matter to the law enforcement agency to ensure that the culprit is adequately punished. This is also to ensure that the person does not get an opportunity to do it again to some else in future.

The Psychological Effects of Rape among Women in Nigeria
A woman that was raped have been destroyed psychologically, physically, socially, and spiritually.

There is always a social stigma on the personality of women that was raped. People living within and around their environment will make them an object of discussion which may be in their favour by the way of empathizing, sympathizing or by scornfully making a sport of them.

A woman that was raped usually finds it so difficult to trust any man. Many of them ended up not getting married.

Most women that are victims of rape usually have hallucinatory experiences and delusion of persecution. When the traumatic experience become so severe, such women may develop posttraumatic stress disorder. Manic disorder that is episodic may set in. When such women sees men coming towards them they will take to their heels. Appropriate psychological therapies should be given to such victims as prophylaxis for such disorders.

They may develop generalized excruciating hatred to all men, even when such men have good intention. Such women yearns for vengeance whenever men comes around them.

The victims of rape may begin to have suicide ideation or may actually commit suicide if appropriate psychological measures are not taken.

Most of them actually develops inferiority complex before their peers, and they may suddenly have low self-esteem.

Virgins who wants to keep their virginity until marriage, that were circumstantially raped may bear the guilt of being raped for the rest of their lives. They will never be happy throughout their lives.

Consequences of Rape on Men and Boys in Nigeria

The men or boys that were raped may end up trusting no woman in their live time. Some of them may also end up becoming misogynist.

Some of them usually develop psychosocial syndrome of shame and doubt of who they really are. In the quest of who they really are may lure them in the direction of compensating themselves for a gay status.

Serial killers responsible for death of women and girls are usually men that were abused or raped when they were young.

Some of them that may marry in their life time will not marry because of love for their partners but rather they assume the status of married men to please their families or to continue the family procreation.

Married men that were raped may believe that having sex with their wives are not obligatory but rather a privilege.

Consequences of Rape among Children and Minors in Nigeria

Children that were raped usually grow up trusting no one and even the members of their families.
Such children may exhibit aggressive and violent tendencies at their adulthood.
They will develop so much dislike for their immediate environment and their mind will be yearning for vengeance at any slight provocation.
Such children may grow up to become sexual masochists.
Such children may also grow up to develop strong resentment and hatred for the opposite sex.
They may blame the world around them for being selfish and hostile for their earthly existence.
It will grossly affect their academic performance and they may develop a lukewarm attitude to education.

In conclusion, I will say that rape, sexual assault and child sexual molestation is a heinous crime against humanity that need to be curbed in our society. The Primary victims (PV) of rapes, sexual assaults and sexual molestation such as women, children, girls, babies, need to be adequately protected from the perpetrators of such crimes in our society. It is a fact that the National and State lockdowns by the Federal and State governments in Nigeria as a result of the current global Covid-19 pandemic may have contributed to the reduction of the spread of this deadly virus in various Nigerian Communities. But the twist of faith in the said lockdowns exposed some human weaknesses within our society. The issue of rape that was not so common in Nigerian society became the order of the day. Nigeria recorded unprecedented number of cases of rape within families in the months under review.

There were cases of fathers raping their daughters, mothers raping their sons, brother raping their sisters and sisters raping their brothers. The unfathomable act of rape was that of old men of 65 years and 70 years raping babies between the ages of zero to 5 years. Men at these age range raping minors could be termed as a Psychological or psychiatric case. The families of such men need to consult Clinical Psychologists or Psychiatrists on their behalf for possible rehabilitation.

A careful analysis revealed that during the lockdown as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, people were deprived from seeing their love ones as a way of maintaining a social distance which is among the rules and regulation or guidelines on possible ways of flattening the curve of Covid-19. The resultant effects of this social distance that culminated into restricting people from seeing their close friends and acquaintances led to reckless incidence of incest and rapes in our various society.

Researches have shown that adults with high degree of libido cannot stay for a long period of time without consummating sexual intercourse with the opposite sex. The same is applicable with gay individuals. Some of the incestuous sexual intercourse during the lockdowns may not only be rape, but rather an agreement between two related individuals who may be teenagers, adolescents or adults. It is not surprising to say that some female teenagers, adolescents and adults came out of the lockdowns in a family way, and some parents were puzzled on how it happened. There is a popular adage in Igbo land that says; you don’t put a goat and a yam together in a room, and come back to see the yam the same.

I therefore advice parents and guardians to take adequate care of their children or wards. Do not trust your relations to the extent of habouring an opposite sex relations in the same room or house with your children. Something abominable and despicable may be happening under your nose as parents without you knowing.
It is gradually becoming a daily news in our society to hear that some fathers sleep with their daughters while some mothers sleep with their sons. This is a wanton folly prohibited and condemned by the religious Institutions and yet it is happening. Such parents in this sacrilegious act should endeavour to consult Clinical Psychologists that will conduct personality assessment on them and probably diagnose the possible causes of such behaviour. Such parents may benefit from reliable psychotherapeutic prophylaxis that will extinct such dastardly, amorous and highly absurd inappropriate relationship between them and their children.

Measures that will be taken to reduce the Incidence of Rape in Nigeria

1. Our girl children and women should be given a good orientation on how to dress well before coming out in the public.
2. The Federal Government should promulgate a law prohibiting indecent dressing in our public space. The Government should establish a mobile court to try people arrested for indecent dressing. If they are found guilty, they should be fined and it will serve as a deterrent to such behaviour among possible victims in future.
3. Decent way of dressing should be inculcated in the various school curriculums from primary to tertiary Institutions.
4. Our religious Institutions should resurrect or re-awake the long aged moral instructions that teaches children how to behave at home and outside their homes. Decent way of dressing and respect to their elders among other religious injunctions should inculcated in their superego.
5. Parents should try as much as possible to be role model to their children by dressing well at all times.
6. Teachers and Lecturers in nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions should endeavour to behave well, dress well and show good examples to their pupils and students.
7. A rape of individuals from 15 years of age and above should be made to attract not less than fifteen years imprisonment or correctional incarceration in our correctional centres.
8. Raping of children between the ages of 9 to 14 years should attract a prison or correctional incarceration of life jail.
9. Raping of children from 0 to 8years should be made to attract a death penalty.
10. Our girls and boys should be trained on how to defend themselves. They should be trained on martial arts like kunfu, Karate and takwando for the purpose of defending themselves when they are confronted with the rapists in their various environments. The martial arts are common among the Asian Countries and our people should embrace them to defend themselves when the need arises.
11. Finally, the primary victims (PV) of rape should as a matter of urgency consult Clinical Psychologists in order to prevent further psychological damage to their wellbeing. There is no doubt that the victims of rape pass through debilitating traumatic experiences after the incidence of rape.

Thank you for your patience,

Abamara, Nnaemeka C. Ph.D
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Department of Psychology, Unizik Awka.